-  A3? 


\ 


V? 


ILE      X 

NAVYSET   \fr.CARE 


:c*/x 


A  MAP  OF  CAPE  COD  AS  IT  APPEARED  AT  THE  BEGINNING 
OF  THE  17TH  CENTURY. 


See  page  30. 


TIIK 


PRE-COLUMBIAN 
DISCOVERY   OF  AMERICA 


BY 


THE  NORTHMEN, 


ILLUSTRATED   BY 


from  tf>e  Scelaniric 


EDITED   WITH 


NOTES  AND  A  GENERAL  INTRODUCTION, 


BY 


B.   F.   DE  COSTA 


ALBANY: 
JOEL    M  U N  S  E  L  L . 

1868. 


E  1 


05 


P  REFACE. 


The  aim  of  the  present  work  is  to  place  within  the  reach  of  the 
English  reading  historical  student  every  portion  of  the  Icelandic 
Sagas  essentially  relating  to  the  Pre-Columbian  Discovery  of  America 
by  the  Northmen.  These  Sagas  are  left,  in  the  main,  to  tell  their 
own  story ;  though,  with  the  necessary  introductions,  notes  have  been 
added,  either  to  remove  misconceptions,  to  give  information  in 
regard  to  persons  and  places,  or  to  show  the  identity  of  localities 
described. 

So  long  ago  as  the  year  1838,  a  distinguished  writer  in  the  North 
American  Review,  in  closing  a  valuable  and  appreciative  article  on 
the  Sagas  relating  to  America,  said  :  "  We  trust  that  some  zealous 
student  of  these  subjects  will  be  immediately  found,  who  will  put 
the  Icelandic  authorities  into  an  English  dress,  and  prepare  them, 
with  proper  literary  apparatus,  for  the  perusal  of  the  general  reader/' 

Nevertheless,  no  one  in  this  country  has  really  undertaken  the 
task  until  now ;  for  the  dialogues  of  Joshua  Toulmin  Smith,  how 
ever  valuable  they  may  have  proved  at  the  date  of  their  publication, 
can  by  no  means  be  regarded  as  constituting  the  strict  historical 
work  contemplated.  The  English  treatise  by  Beamish  was  conceived 
in  the  right  spirit;  but,  while  encumbered  with  much  irrelevant 
matter,  it  did  not  complete  the  subject,  and,  together  with  Smith's 
work,  long  since  went  out  of  print.  Several  of  the1  brief  Narratives 
are  also  given  by  Laing,  buried  in  the  appendix  of  his  valuable 
translation  of  the  Heimskringla  ;  but  the  labors  of  these  authors  are 
not  now  available,  and,  if  combined,  would  not  meet  the  present 
want.  The  author  has  therefore  improved  a  favorable  occasion  to 


IV  PREFACE. 

present  what  may,  perhaps,  be  regarded  as  an  exposition  of  the  whole 
question.  In  doing  so  he  has  freely  made  use  of  such  material  from 
the  above  mentioned  writers  as  he  considered  valuable  for  the  pur 
pose.  The  brief  translations  of  Laing,  being  well  done,  have  been 
given  entire,  with  the  exception  that  particular  expressions  have 
been  improved  upon ;  but  such  portions  of  the*  unsatisfactory  and 
not  altogether  ingenuous  work  of  Smith  as  have  been  used  have 
been  somewhat  thoroughly  recast.  A  better  use  could  have  been 
made  of  Beamish's  work,  if  the  author  had  succeeded  in  obtaining  a 
copy  before  he  was  on  the  point  of  closing  up  his  work. 

No  critical  knowledge  of  the  Icelandic  tongue  is  claimed  by  the 
author,  yet  he  hopes  that  the  text  of  the  Sagas  has  not  here  been 
misinterpreted,  or  left  obscure,  especially  as  the  Sagas  relating  to  the 
Pre-Columbian  voyages  are  given  in  Professors  Rafn's  work  on  the 
antiquities  of  America,  accompanied  by  versions  in  Latin  and  Danish. 
In  everything  relating  to  the  latter  tongue,  the  author  has  had  the 
invaluable  assistance  and  advice  of  one  who  has  spoken  it  from 
childhood. 

The  grammatical  structure  of  the  Icelandic  is  simple,  and  the  aim 
has  been  throughout  to  maintain  this  simplicity  in  the  translations, 
so  far  as  the  genius  of  our  own  tongue  would  permit.  This  work 
being  strictly  historical,  both  in  spirit  and  design,  the  poetical  ex 
tracts  which  occur  here  and  there  are  translated  as  literally  as 
possible,  without  any  attempt  to  garnish  them  with  metre  and 
rhyme.  Nevertheless  versions  in  rhyme,  by  other  hands,  are  some 
times  given  in  the  notes. 

It  will  be  seen  that  the  author  differs  on  some  points  from  Pro 
fessor  Rafn ;  yet  it  is  believed  that  if  he  could  have  gone  over  the 
subject  again,  studying  it  on  the  ground,  and  amid  the  scenes  in 
which  so  many  of  the  exploits  of  the  Northmen  were  performed,  he 
would  have  modified  his  views  on  some  points. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  author  has  sought  to  strengthen  several  of 
the  conclusions  of  that  noble  and  laborious  investigator,  and  particu- 


PREFACE.  V 

larly  by  bringing  out  more  fully  the  truthfulness  of  the  Icelandic 
descriptions  of  the  coast  of  Cape  Cod,  which  centuries  ago  presented 
an  aspect  that  it  does  not  now  possess. 

And  let  us  remember  that  in  vindicating  the  Northmen  we  honor 
those  who  not  only  give  us  the  first  knowledge  possessed  of  the 
American  continent,  but  to  whom  we  are  indebted  for  much  beside 
that  we  esteem  valuable.  For  we  fable  in  a  great  measure  when  we 
speak  of  our  "  Saxon  inheritance."  It  is  rather  from  the  Northmen 
that  we  have  derived  our  vital  energy,  our  freedom  of  thought,  and, 
in  a  measure,  that  we  do  not  yet  suspect,  our  strength  of  speech. 
Yet,  happily,  the  people  are  fast  becoming  conscious  of  their  in 
debtedness  ;  so  that  it  is  to  be  hoped  that  the  time  is  not  far  distant 
when  the  Northmen  may  be  recognized  in  their  right,  social,  political 
and  literary  characters,  and  at  the  same  time,  as  navigators,  assume 
their  true  position  in  the  Pre-Columbian  Discovery  of  America. 

STUYVESANT  PARK, 

NEW  YOKK,  1868. 


CONTENTS. 


I.  Preface. 

II.  General  Introduction. —  Historic  Fancies;  The  Sea  of  Darkness; 
Juba's  Expedition ;  Traditions ;  The  Northmen  ;  The  Colonization 
of  Iceland  ;  Settlement  of  Greenland ;  Organization  of  the  Church  ; 
Monuments  and  Ruins  ;  Explorations  in  Greenland  ;  The  Decline 
of  Greenland  ;  Lost  Greenland  Found  ;  The  Character  and  Achiev- 
ments  of  the  Northmen  ;  The  Ships  of  the  Northmen ;  The  Litera 
ture  of  Iceland;  The  Manuscripts;  The  Truthfulness  of  the 
Narratives ;  The  Absence  of  Monuments  and  Remains  in  Vinland. 

III.  Gunnbiorn  and  his  Rocks. 

IV.  Eric  the  Red's  voyages  to  Greenland  and  settlement,  A.D.    983-986. 
V.  Biarne  Heriulfsson's  voyage  to  the  coast  of  America,  A.D.    986. 

VI.  Leif  Ericson's  voyage  to  Vinland,    -  -  A.D.  1000-1001. 

VII.  Thorvald  Ericson's  voyage  to  Vinland,        -  -       A.D.  1002. 

VIII.  Thorstein  Ericson's  attempt  to  Seek  Vinland,  -  A.D.  1005. 

IX.  Thorfinn  Karlsefne's  settlement  in  Vinland,  A.D.  1006  - 1009. 

X.  Freydis's  voyage  and  settlement  in  Vinland,  -  -  A.D.  1010-1012. 


MINOR  NARRATIVES. 

I.  Are  Marson's  Sojourn  in  Hvitramannaland,        -        -        -  A.D.    983. 
II.  Voyage  of  Biorn  Asbrandson,  -  -        .      A.D.    999. 

III.  Gudleif  Gudlangson's  voyage,    •  ...  A.D.  1027. 

IV.  Allusions  to  Voyages  found  in  Ancient  Manuscripts. 
V.  Geographical  Fragments. 


GENERAL    INTRODUCTION 


PRE-COLUMBIAN    DISCOVERY. 


GENERAL  INTRODUCTION. 

HISTORIC  FANCIES. 

Before  the  plains  of  Europe,  or  even  the  peaks  of  Chou- 
malarie,  rose  above  the  primeval  seas,  the  Continent  of 
America  emerged  from  the  watery  waste  that  encircled 
the  whole  globe,  and  became  the  scene  of  animate  life. 
The  so-called  New  World  is  in  reality  the  Old,  and  bears 
abundant  proofs  of  hoary  age.  But  at  what  period  it 
became  the  abode  of  man  we  are  unable  even  to  con 
jecture.  Down  to  the  close  of  the  tenth  century  of  the 
Christian  era  it  had  no  written  history.  Traces  of  a  rude 
civilization  that  suggest  a  high  antiquity  are  by  no  means 
wanting.  Monuments  and  mounds  remain  that  point  to 
periods  the  contemplation  of  which  would  cause  Chronos 
himself  to  grow  giddy;  yet  among  all  these  great  and 
often  impressive  memorials  there  is  no  monument,  inscrip 
tion,  or  sculptured  frieze,  that  solves  the  mystery  of  their 
origin.  Tradition  itself  is  dumb,  and  the  theme  chiefly 
kindles  when  brought  within  the  realm  of  imagination. 
We  can  only  infer  that  age  after  age  nations  and  tribes 
continued  to  rise  to  greatness  and  then  fall  into  decline, 
and  that  barbarism  and  a  rude  culture  held  alternate  sway. 

Nevertheless,  men  have  enjoyed  no  small  degree  of 
satisfaction  in  conjuring  up  theories  to  explain  the  origin 
of  the  early  races  on  the  Western  Continent.  What  a 
charm  lingers  around  the  supposed  trans- Atlantic  voyages 
of  the  hardy  Phenician,  the  luxurious  sailors  of  Tyre,  and, 


xii  PRE-COLUMBIAN  DISCOVERY  OF 

later,  of  the  bold  Basque.  What  stories  might  the  lost 
picture-records  of  Mexico  and  the  chronicles  of  Dieppe 
tell.  Now  we  are  presented  with  the  splendid  view  of 
great  fleets,  the  remnant  of  some  conquered  race,  bearing 
across  the  ocean  to  re-create  in  new  and  unknown  lands 
the  cities  and  monuments  they  were  forever  leaving 
behind ; l  and  now  it  is  simply  the  story  of  some  storm- 
tossed  mariner  who  blindly  drives  across  to  the  western 
strand,  and  lays  the  foundation  of  empire.  Again  it  is 
the  devotee  of  mammon,  in  search  of  gainful  traffic  or  golden 
fleece.  How  romantic  is  the  picture  of  his  little  solitary 
bark  setting  out  in  the  days  of  Roman  greatness,  or  in  the 
splendid  age  of  Charlemagne,  sailing  trustingly  away 
between  the  Pillars  of  Hercules,  and  tossing  towards  the 
Isles  of  the  Blessed  and  the  Fountains  of  Eternal  Youth. 
In  time  the  Ultima  Thule  of  the  known  world  is  passed, 
and  favoring  gales  bear  the  merchant-sailor  to  new  and 
wondrous  lands.  We  see  him  coasting  the  unknown 
shores  passing  from  cape  to  cape,  and  from  bay  to  inlet, 
gazing  upon  the  marvels  of  the  New  World,  trafficing  with 
the  bronzed  Indian,  bartering  curious  wares  for  barbaric 
gold ;  arid  then  shaping  his  course  again  for  the  markets 
of  the  distant  East  to  pour  strange  tales  into  incredulous 
ears.  Still  this  may  not  be  all  fancy. 

THE  SEA  OF  DARKNESS, 

In  early  times  the  Atlantic  ocean,  like  all  things  without 
known  bounds,  was  viewed  by  man  with  mixed  feelings 
of  fear  and  awe.  It  was  called  the  Sea  of  Darkness.  Yet, 
nevertheless,  there  were  those  who  professed  to  have  some 
knowledge  of  its  extent,  and  of  what  lay  beyond.  The 
earliest  reference  to  this  sea  is  that  by  Theopompus,  in  the 


Jones  OH  The  Tyrian  Period  of  America. 


AMERICA  BY  THE  NORTHMEN. 

fourth  century  before  the  Christian  era,  given  in  a  frag 
ment  of  ^Elian,1  where  a  vast  island  is  described,  lying  far 
in  the  west,  and  peopled  by  strange  races.  To  this  we 
may  add  the  reference  of  Plato2  to  the  island  called 
Atlantis,  which  lay  west  of  the  Pillars  of  Hercules,  and 
which  was  estimated  to  be  larger  than  Asia  and  Africa 
combined.  Aristotle  3  also  thought  that  many  other  lands 
existed  beyond  the  Atlantic.  Plato  supposed  that  the 
Atlantis  was  sunk  by  an  earthquake,  arid  Grantor  says 
that  he  found  the  same  account  related  by  the  Priests  of 
Sais  three  hundred  years  after  the  .time  of  Solon,  from 
whom  the  grandfather  of  Critias  had  his  information. 
Plato  says,  that  after  the  Atlantis  disappeared  navigation 
was  rendered  too  difficult  to  be  attempted  by  the  slime 
which  resulted  from  the  sinking  of  the  land.  It  is  prob 
able  that  he  had  in  mind  the  immense  fields  of  drifting 
sea-weed  found  in  that  locality,  and  which  Humboldt  esti 
mates  to  cover  a  portion  of  the  Atlantic  ocean  six  times  as 
large  as  all  Germany. 

It  is  thought  that  Homer4  obtained  the  idea  of  his 
Elysium  in  the  Western  ocean  from  the  voyages  of  the 
Phenieians,  who,  as  is  well  known,  sailed  regularly  to  the 
British  Islands.  They  are  also  supposed  by  some  to  have 
pushed  their  discoveries  as  far  as  the  Western  Continent. 
Cadiz,  situated  on  the  shore  of  Andalusia,  was  established 
by  the  Tynans  twelve  centuries  before  the  year  of 
Christ ;  and  when  Cadiz,  the  ancient  Gadir,  was  full  five 
hundred  years  old,  a  Greek  trader,  Colseus,  there  bought 
rare  merchandise,  a  long  and  severe  gale  having  driven 
his  ships  beyond  the  Pillars  of  Hercules. 


1  Var.  Hist.,  lib.  in,  cap.  xviii. 

2  See  Plato's  Critias  and  Timmas. 

3De  Mundo,  cap.  in.    Sec  Prince  Henry  the  Navigator,  clmp.  vir,  by 
Major:  London,  1868. 
4  (Myxwy,  book  iv,  1.  705. 


xiv  PRE-COLUMBIAN  DISCOVERY  OF 


THE   PHENICIANS. 

In  the  ninth  century  before  the  Christian  Era,  the  Phe- 
nicians  had  established  colonies  on  the  western  coast  of 
Africa;  and  three  hundred  years  later,  according  to  Hero 
dotus,  Pharaoh  Necho,  son  of  Psammiticus,  sent  an  expe 
dition,  manned  by  Phenician  sailors,  around  the  entire 
coast  of  Africa.  Vivien  de  St.  Martin  fixes  the  date  of  this 
expedition  at  570  before  Christ.  St.  Martin,  in  his  account 
of  the  voyage,  improves  slightly  upon  the  views  of  Carl 
Miiller,  and  is  followed  by  Bougainville.1  This  voyage, 
performed  by  Hanno  under  the  direction  of  Pharaoh,  was 
inscribed  in  the  Punic  language  in  a  Carthagenian  temple, 
being  afterwards  translated  into  Greek,  and  was  thus 
preserved. 

That  the  Canary  Islands  were  discovered  and  colonized 
by  the  Phenicians,  there  need  be  no  doubt.  Tradition 
had  always  located  islands  in  that  vicinity.  Strabo  speaks 
of  the  Islands  of  the  Blessed,  as  lying  not  far  from  Mauri 
tania,  opposite  Gadir  or  Cadiz,.  And  he  distinctly  says, 
"  That  those  who  pointed  out  these  things  were  the  Phe 
nicians,  who,  before  the  time  of  Homer,  had  possession  of 
the  best  part  of  Africa  and  Spain."2  And  when  we 
remember  that  the  Phenicians  sought  to  monopolize  trade, 
and  hold  the  knowledge  of  their  commercial  resorts  a 
secret,  it  is  not  surprising  that  we  should  hear  nothing 
more  of  the  Fortunate  Isles  until  about  eighty-two  years 
before  Christ,  when  the  Eoman  Sertorius  met  some  Lusi- 
tanian  sailors  on  the  coast  of  Spain  who  had  just  returned 
from  the  Fortunate  Isles.  They  are  described  as  two 
delightful  islands,  separated  by  a  narrow  strait,  distant 


1  See  Prince  Henry  tlie,  Navigator,  p.  90. 
8  Strobo.  lib.  TTI.— Plutarch. 


AMERICA  BY  THE  NORTHMEN.  XV 

from  Africa  five  hundred  leagues.  Twenty  years  after 
the  death  of  Sertorius,  Statius  Sebosus  drew  up  a  chart  of  a 
group  of  five  islands,  each  mentioned  by  name,  and  which 
Pliny  calls  the  Hesperides,  including  the  Fortunate  Isles. 
This  mention  of  the  Canaries  was  sixty-three  years  before 
Christ. 


JUBA'S  EXPEDITION. 

When  King  Juba  II  returned  to  Mauritania,  he  sent  an 
expedition  to  the  Fortunate  Isles.  A  fragment  of  the  narra 
tives  of  this  expedition  still  survives  in  the  works  of  Pliny. 
They  are  described  as  lying  southwest,  six  hundred  and 
twenty-five,  miles  from  Purpurarise.  To  reach  them  from 
this  place,  they  first  sailed  two  hundred  and  fifty  miles  west 
ward  and  then  three  hundred  and  seventy-five  miles  eastward. 
Pliny  says :  u  The  first  is  called  Ombrios,  and  contains  no 
traces  of  buildings.  There  is  in  it  a  pool  in  the  midst  of 
mountains,  and  trees  like  ferules,  from  which  water  may 
be  pressed,  which  is  bitter  from  the  black  kinds,  but  from 
the  light  kinds  pleasant  to  drink.  The  second  is  called 
Junonia,  and  contains  a  small  temple  built  entirely  of  stone. 
Near  it  is  another  smaller  island  having  the  same  name. 
Then  comes  Capraria,  which  is  full  of  large  lizards. 
Within  sight  of  these  is  Nivaria,  so  called  from  the  snow  and 
fogs  with  which  it  is  always  covered.  Not  far  from  Viva 
ria  is  Canaria,  so  called  on  account  of  the  great  number 
of  large  dogs  therein,  two  of  which  were  brought  to 
King  Juba.  There  were  traces  of  buildings  in  these 
islands.  All  the  islands  abound  in  apples,  and  in  birds  of 
every  kind,  and  in  palms  covered  with  dates,  and  in  the 
pine  nut.  There  is  also  plenty  of  fish.  The  papyrus 
grows  there,  and  the  silurus  fish  is  found  in  the  rivers." l 


1  Pliny's  Natural  History,  lib.  vi,  cap.  37. 


Xvi  PRE-COLUMBIAN  DISCOVERY  OF 

The  author  of  Prince  Henry  the  Navigator?  says  that  in 
Ombrios,  we  recognize  the  Pluvialia  of  Sebosus.  Con- 
vallis  of  Sebosus,  in  Pliny,  becomes  Mvaria,  the  Peak  of 
Teneriffe,  which  lifts  itself  up  to  the  majestic  height  of 
nine  thousand  feet,  its  snow-capped  pinnacle  seeming  to 
pierce  the  sky.  Planaria  is  displaced  by  Canaria,  which 
term  first  applied  to  the  great  central  island,  now  gives 
the  name  to  the  whole  group.  Ombrios  or  Pluvialia, 
evidently  means  the  island  of  Palma,  which  had  "  a  pool 
in  the  midst  of  mountains,"  now  represented  by  the  crater 
of  an  extinct  volcano.  This  the  sailors  of  King  Juba 
evidently  saw.  Major  says :  "  The  distance  of  this  island 
[Palma]  from  Fuerteventura,  agrees  withN  that  of  the  two 
hundred  and  fifty  miles  indicated  by  Juba's  navigators  as 
existing  between  Ombrios  and  the  Purpurarire.  It  has 
already  been  seen  that  the  latter  agree  with  Lancerote  and 
Fuerteventura,  in  respect  of  their  distance  from  the  con 
tinent  and  from  each  other,  as  described  by  Plutarch. 
That  the  Purpurariae  are  not,  as  M.  Bory  de  St.  Vincent 
supposed,  the  Madeira  group,  is  not  only  shown  by  the 
want  of  inhabitants  in  the  latter,  but  by  the  orchil,  which 
supplies  the  purple  dye,  being  derived  from  and  sought 
for  especially  from  the  Canaries,  and  not  from  the  Madeira 
group,  although  it  is  to  be  found  there.  Junonia,"  he 
continues,  "  the  nearest  to  Ombrios,  will  be  Glomera.  It 
may  be  presumed  that  the  temple  found  therein,  was,  like 
the  island,  dedicated  to  Juno.  Capraria,  which  implies 
the  island  of  goats,  agrees  correctly  with  the  island  of 
Ferro, .  .  .  for  these  animals  were  found  there  in  large 
numbers  when  the  island  was  invaded  by  Jean  de  Bethen- 
court,  in  1402.  But  a  yet  more  striking  proof  of  the 
identity  of  this  island  with  Capraria,  is  the  account  of  the 
great  number  of  lizards  found  therein.  Bethencourt's 


'Seep.  137. 


AMERICA  BY  THE  NORTHMEN.  xvii 

chaplains,  describing  their  visit  to  the  islands,  in  1402, 
state  :  4  There  are  lizards  in  it  as  big  as  cats,  but  they 
are  harmless,  although  very  hideous  to  look  at. '  "  l 

We  see,  then,  that  the  navigators  of  Juba  visited  the 
Canaries2  at  an  early  period,  as  Strabo  testifies  was  the 
case  with  the  Phenicians,  who  doubtless  built  the  temple 
in  the  island  of  Junonia.  And,  for  aught  we  know, 
early  navigators  may  have  passed  over  to  the  Western 
continent  and  laid  the  foundation  of  those  strange  nations 
whose  monuments  still  remain.  Both  Phenician  and 
Tyrian  voyages  to  the  Western  Continent,  have  been 
warmly  advocated ;  while  Lord  Kingsborough  published 
his  magnificent  volumes  on  the  Mexican  Antiquities,  to 
show  that  the  Jews  settled  this  continent  at  an  early  day.3 
And  if  it  is  true  that  all  the  tribes  of  the  earth  sprang 
from  one  central  Asiatic  family,  it  is  more  than  likely 
that  the  original  inhabitants  of  the  American  continent 
crossed  the  Atlantic,  instead  of  piercing  the  frozen  regions 
of  the  north,  and  coming  in  by  the  way  of  Behring  Straits. 
From  the  Canaries  to  the  coast  of  Florida,  it  is  a  short 
voyage,  and  the  bold  sailors  of  the  Mediterranean,  after 


1  Prince  Henry  the  Navigator,  p.  137. 

2  After  this  mention  by  Pliny,  the  Canaries,  or  Fortunate  Isles,  are  lost 
sight  of  for  a  period  of  thirteen  hundred  years.     In  the  reign  of  Edward 
III  of  England,  at  the  beginning  of  the  fourteenth  century,  one  Robert 
Machin  sailed  from  Bristol  for  France,  carrying  away  a  lady  of  rank,  who 
had  eloped  with  him,  and  was  driven  by  a  storm  to  the  Canaries,  where  he 
landed,  and  thus  rediscovered  the  lost  Fortunate  Isles.     This  fact  is  curi 
ously  established  by  Major,  in  the  Life  of  Prince  Henry,  so  that  it  can  no 
longer  be  regarded  as  an  idle  tale  (see  pp.  66-77).     In  1341,  a  voyag'e  was 
also  made  to  the  Canaries,  under  the  auspices  of  King  Henry  of  Portugal. 
The  report,  so   widely  circulated  by   De   Barros,  that  the  islands    were 
rediscovered   by   Prince  Henry  is  therefore    incorrect.        His   expedition 
reached  Porto  Santo  and  Madeira  in  1418-20. 

3  He  also  speculates  upon  the  probability  of  this  continent  having  been 
visited  by  Christian  missionaries.     See  vol.  vi,  p.  410. 

0 


xviii  PRE-COLUMBIAN  DISCOVERY  OF 

touching  at  the  Canaries,  need  only  spread  their  sails 
before  the  steady-breathing  monsoon,  to  find  themselves 
wafted  safely  to  the  western  shore. 


TRADITIONS. 

There  was  even  a  tradition  that  America  was  visited  by 
St.  Columba,1  and  also  by  the  Apostle  St.  Thomas,2  who 
penetrated  even  as  far  as  Peru.  This  opinion  is  founded 
on  the  resemblance  existing  between  certain  rites  and 
doctrines  which  seem  to  have  been  held  in  common  by 
Christians  and  the  early  inhabitants  of  Mexico.  The  first 
Spanish  missionaries  were  surprised  to  find  the  Mexicans 
bowing  in  adoration  before  the  figure  of  the  cross,  and 
inferred  that  these  people  were  of  a  Christian  origin.  Yet 
the  inference  has  no  special  value,  when  we  remember 
that  Christianity  is  far  less  ancient  than  the  symbol  of  the 
cross,  which  also  existed  among  the  Egyptians  and  other 
ancient  people. 

Claims  have  also  been  made  for  the  Irish.  Broughton 
brings  forward  a  passage  in  which  St.  Patrick  is  repre 
sented  as  sending  missionaries  to  the  Isles  of  America.3 
Another  claim  has  been  urged  of  a  more  respectable 
character,  which  is  supported  by  striking,  though  not 
conclusive  allusions  in  the  chronicles  of  the  North,  in  which 
a  distant  land  is  spoken  of  as  "  Ireland  the  Great."  The 
Irish,  in  the  early  times,  might  easily  have  passed  over  to 
the  Western  continent,  for  which  voyage  they  undoubtedly 
had  the  facilities.  And  Professor  Rafn,  after  alluding  to 
the  well  known  fact  that  the  Northmen  were  preceded 
in  Iceland  by  the  Irish,  says,  that  it  is  by  no  means 


1  Kingsborough's  Mexican  Antiquities,  vol.  vi,  p.  285. 

2  Ibid.,  p.  332. 

3  Monastikon  Britannicum,  pp.   131-2-187-8.     The  fact  that  the  word 
America  is  here  used,  seems  quite  sufficient  to  upset  the  legend. 


AMERICA  BY  THE  NORTHMEN.  X1X 

improbable  that  the  Irish  should  also  have  anticipated 
them  in  America.  The  Irish  were  a  sea-faring  people, 
and  have  been  assigned  a  Phenician  origin  by  Moore  and 
others  who  have  examined  the  subject.1  If  this  is  so,  the 
tradition  would  appear  to  be  some  what  strengthened. 
Even  as  early  as  the  year  296,  the  Irish  are  said  to  have 
invaded  Denmark  with  a  large  fleet.  In  396,  Niall  made 
a  descent  upon  the  coast  of  Lancashire  with  a  con 
siderable  navy,  where  he  was  met  by  the  Roman,  Sti- 
licho,  whose  achievements  were  celebrated  by  Claudian 
in  the  days  of  the  Roman  occupation  of  England.  At  that 
period  the  Irish  were  in  most  respects  in  advance  of  the 
Northmen,  not  yet  having  fallen  into  decline,  and  quite 
as  likely  as  any  people  then  existing  to  brave  the  dangers 
of  an  ocean  voyage.2  The  Icelandic  documents,  possibly 
referring  to  the  Irish,  will  be  given  in  their  proper  place, 
and  in  the  meanwhile  it  need  only  to  be  added  that  the 
quotation  given  by  Beamish  from  such  an  authority  as 
the  Turkish  Spy  will  hardly  tend  to  strengthen  their 
claims,  especially  where  its  author,  John  Paul  Maraua, 
says  that  in  Mexico  "  the  British  language  is  so  pre 
valent,"  that  uthe  very  towns,  bridges,  beasts,  birds, 


1  The  Irish  were  early  known  as  Scots,  and  O'Halloran  derives  the  name 
from  Scota,  high  priest  of  Phoenius,  and  ancestor  of  Mileseuis. 

Me  quoque  vicins  pereuntem  gentibus,  inquit, 
Munivit  Stilicho.  Totam  cum  Scotus  lernem, 
Movit  et  infesto  spumavit  remige  Thetys. 

By  him.  defended,  when  the  neighboring  hosts 
Of  warlike  nations  spread  along  our  coasts  ; 
When  Scots  came  thundering  from  the  Irish  shores, 
And  the  wide  oc'ean  foamed  with  hostile  oars. 

2  Speaking  of  Britain  and  Ireland,  Tacitus  says  of  the  latter,  that  "  the 
approaches  and  harbors  are  better  known,  by  reason  of  commerce  and  the 
merchants." — Vit.  Agri.,  c.  24.     The  Irish,   doubtless,  mingled  with  the 
Carthagenians  in  mercantile  transactions,  and  from  them  they  not  unlikely 
received  the  rites  of  Druidism. 


XX  PRE-COLUMBIAN  DISCOVERY  OF 

rivers,  hills,  etc.,  are  called  by  the  British  or  Welch1 
names."  2  In  truth,  as  the  wish  is  so  often  father  to  the 
thought,  it  would  be  an  easy  task  to  find  resemblance  in 
the  languages  of  the  aborigines  to  almost  any  language 
that  is  spoken  in  our  day. 

But  notwithstanding  the  probabilities  of  the  case,  we 
have  no  solid  reason  for  accepting  any  of  these  alleged 
voyages  as  facts.  Much  labor  has  been  given  to  the 
subject,  yet  the  early  history  of  the  American  continent 
is  still  veiled  in  mystery,  and  not  until  near  the  close  of 
the  tenth  century  of  the  present  era  can  we  point  to  a 
genuine  trans- Atlantic  voyage. 


THE  NORTHMEN. 

The  first  voyage  to  America,  of  which  we  have  any 
account,  was  performed  by  Northmen.  But  who  were  the 
Northmen  ? 

The  Northmen  were  the  descendants  of  a  race  that  in 
early  times  migrated  from  Asia  and  traveled  towards  the 
north,  finally  settling  in  what  is  now  the  kingdom  of  Den 
mark.  From  thence  they  overran  Norway  and  Sweden,  and 
afterwards  colonized  Iceland  and  Greenland.  Their  lan 
guage  was  the  old  Danish  (Donsk  tunya)  once  spoken  all 
over  the  north,3  but  which  is  now  preserved  in  Iceland 
alone,  being  called  the  Icelandic  or  old  North,4  upon 


1  As  the  tradition  of  a  Welch  voyage  to  America  under  Prince  Madoc, 
relates  to  a  period  following  the  Icelandic  voyages,  the  author  does  not 
deem  it  necessary  to  discuss  the  subject.     This  voyage  by  the  son  of  Owen 
Gwyneth,  is  fixed  for  the  year  1170,  and  is  based  on  a  Welch  chronicle  of 
no  authority.     See  Hackluyt,  vol.  in,  p.  1. 

2  Turkish  Spy,  vol.  vm,  p.  159. 

3  See  "  Northmen  in  Iceland,"  Societd  des  Antiquaires  du  Nord,  Seance 
du  14  Mai,  1859,  pp.  12-14. 

4  It  is  sometimes,  though  improperly,  called  the  Norse. 


AMERICA  BY  THE  NORTHMEN.  xxi 

which  is  founded  the  modern  Swedish,  Danish  and  Norse 
or  Norwegian. 

After  the  Northmen  had  pushed  on  from  Denmark  to 
Norway,  the  condition  of  puhlic  affairs  gradually  became 
such  that  a  large  portion  of  the  better  classes  found  their 
life  intolerable.  In  the  reign  of  Harold  Harfagr  (the 
Fair-haired),  an  attempt  was  made  by  the  king  to  deprive 
the  petty  jarls  of  their  ancient  udal  or  feudal  rights,  and 
to  usurp  all  authority  for  the  crown.  To  this  the  proud 
jarls  would  not  submit ;  and,  feeling  themselves  degraded 
in  the  eyes  of  their  retainers,  they  resolved  to  leave  those 
lands  and  homes  which  they  could  now  hardly  call  their 
own.  Whither,  then,  should  they  go  ? 

THE  COLONIZATION  OF  ICELAND. 

In  the  cold  north  sea,  a  little  below  the  arctic  circle,  lay 
a  great  island.  As  early  as  the  year  860,  it  had  been 
made  known  to  the  Northmen  by  a  Dane  of  Swedish 
descent  named  Gardar,  who  called  it  Gardar's  island, 
and  four  years  later  by  the  pirate  Nadodd,  who  sailed 
thither  in  864  and  called  it  Snowland.  Presenting  in  the 
main  the  form  of  an  irregular  elipse,  this  island  occupies 
an  area  of  about  one  hundred  and  thirty-seven  square 
miles,  affording  the  dull  diversity  of  valleys  without  ver 
dure  and  mountains  without  trees.1  Desolation  has  there 
fixed  its  abode.  It  broods  among  the  dells,  and  looks 
down  upon  the  gloomy  fiords.  The  country  is  threaded 
with  streams  and  dotted  with  tarns,  yet  the  geologist  finds 
but  little  evidence  in  the  structure  of  the  earth  to  point  to 
the  action  of  water.  On  the  other  hand,  every  rock  and 
hillside  is  covered  with  signs  that  prove  their  igneous 


1  In  the  time  when  the  Irish  monks  occupied  the  island,  it  is  said  that  it 
was  "  covered  with  woods  between  the  mountains  and  the  shores." 


xxii  PRE-COLUMBIAN  DISCOVERY  OF 

origin,  and  indicate  that  the  entire  island,  at  some  distant 
period,  has  already  seethed  and  bubbled  in  the  fervent 
heat,  in  anticipation  of  the  long  promised  Palmgenesia. 
Even  now  the  ground  trembles  in  the  throes  of  the  earth 
quake,  the  Geyser  spouts  scalding  water,  and  the  plain 
belches  mud;  while  the  great  jokull,  clad  in  white  robes  of 
eternal  snow  —  true  priest  of  Ormuzd — brandishes  aloft 
its  volcanic  torch,  and  threatens  to  be  the  incendiary  of 
the  sky. 

The  greater  portion  of  the  land  forms  the  homestead  of 
the  reindeer  and  the  fox,  who  share  their  domain  with  the 
occasional  white  bear  that  may  float  over  from  Greenland 
on  some  berg.  Only  two  quadrupeds,  the  fox  and  the 
moose,  are  indigenous.  Life  is  here  purchased  with  a 
struggle.  Indeed  the  neighboring  ocean  is  more  hospitable 
than  the  dry  land,  for  of  the  thirty-four  species  of  mam 
malia  twenty-four  find  their  food  in  the  roaring  main. 
The  same  is  true  of  the  feathered  tribes,  fifty-four  out  of 
ninety  being  water  fowl.  Here  and  there  may  be  seen 
patches  of  meadow  and  a  few  sheep  pastures  and  tracts  of 
arable  land  warmed  into  fruitfulness  by  the  brief  summer's 
sun ;  yet,  on  the  whole,  so  poor  is  the  soil  that  man,  like 
the  lower  orders,  must  eke  out  a  scanty  subsistence  by 
resorting  to  the  sea. 

It  was  towards  this  land,  which  the  settlers  called  Ice- 
land,  that  the  proud  Norwegian  jarl  turned  his  eyes,  and 
there  he  resolved  to  found  a  home. 

The  first  settler  was  Ingolf.  He  approached  the  coast 
in  the  year  875,  threw  overboard  his  seat-posts,1  and 


1  Setstakkar.  These  were  wooden  pillars  carved  with  images  usually  of 
Thor  and  Odin.  In  selecting  a  place  for  a  settlement  these  were  flung 
overboard,  and  wherever  they  were  thrown  up  on  the  beach,  there  the 
settlement  was  to  be  formed.  Ingolf,  the  first  Norse  settler  of  Iceland, 
lost  sight  of  the  seat-posts  after  they  were  thrown  into  the  water,  and  was 
obliged  to  live  for  the  space  of  three  years  at  Ingolfshofdi.  In  another 


AMERICA  BY  THE  NORTHMEN. 


XX111 


waited  to  see  them  touch  the  land.  But  in  this  he  was 
disappointed,  and  those  sacred  columns,  carved  with  the 
images  of  the  gods,  drifted  away  from  sight.  He  never 
theless  landed  on  a  pleasant  promontory  at  the  south 
eastern  extremity  of  the  island,  and  built  his  habitation  on 
the  spot  which  is  called  Ingolfshofdi  to  this  day.  Three 
years  after,  his  servants  found  the  seat-posts  in  the  south 
western  part  of  the  island,  and  hither,  in  obedience  to 
what  was  held  to  be  the  expressed  wish  of  the  gods,  he 
removed  is  household,  laying  the  foundation  of  Keikia- 
vik,  the  capital  of  this  ice-bound  isle.  He  was  rapidly 
followed  by  others,  and  in  a  short  time  no  inconsiderable 
population  was  gathered  here. 

But  the  first  settlers  did  not  find  this  barren  country 
entirely  destitute  of  human  beings.  Ari  Frode,1  than 
whom  there  is  no  higher  authority,  says  :  "  Then  were 
here  Christian  people,  whom  the  Northmen  called  papas, 
but  they  afterwards  went  away,  because  they  would  notjbe 
here  among  heathens ;  and  left  behind  them  Irish  books, 


case  a  settler  did  not  find  his  posts  for  twelve  years,  nevertheless  he  changed 
his  abode  then.  In  Frithiof  s  Saga  (American  edition)  chap,  in,  p.  18,  we 
find  the  following  allusion  : 

"Through  the  whole  length  of  the  hall  shone  forth  the  table  of  oak  wood, 
Brighter  than  steel,  and  polished ;  the  pillars  twain  of  the  high  seats 
Stood  on  each  side  thereof ;  two  gods  deep  carved  out  of  elm  wood  : 
Odin  with  glance  of  a  king,  and  Frey  with  the  sun  on  his  forhead." 

1  Ari  Hinn  Frode,  or  the  Wise.  The  chief  compiler  of  the  famous 
Landnama  Book,  which  contains  a  full  account  of  all  the  early  settlers  in 
Iceland.  It  is  of  the  same  character,  though  vastly  superior  to  the  English 
Doomsday  Book,  and  is  probably  the  most  complete  record  of  the  kind  ever 
made  by  any  nation. 

It  contains  the  names  of  3000  persons,  and '1,400  places.  It  gives  a 
correct  account  of  the  genealogies  of  the  families,  and  brief  notices  of 
personal  achievements.  It  was  begun  by  Frode  (born  1067,  died  1148),  and 
was  continued  by  Kalstegg,  Styrmer  and  Thordsen,  and  completed  by 
Hauk  Erlandson,  Lagman,  or  Governor  of  Iceland,  who  died  in  the  year 
1334. 


xxiv  PRE-COLUMBIAN  DISCOVERY  OF 

and  bells,  and  croziers,  from  which  it  could  be  seen  that 
they  were  Irishmen."  He  repeats  substantially  the  same 
thing  in  the  Landanama  Book,  the  authority  of  which,  no 
one  acquainted  with  the  subject,  will  question,  adding  that 
books  and  other  relics  were  found  in  the  island  of  Papey 
and  Papyli,  and  that  the  circumstance  is  also  mentioned 
in  English  books.  The  English  writings  referred  to  are 
those  of  the  Venerable  Bede.  This  is  also  stated  in  an 
edition  of  King  Olaf  Tryggvesson's  Saga,  made  near  the 
end  of  the  fourteenth  century.1 

The  monks  or  Culdees,  who  had  come  hither  from 
Ireland  and  the  Isles  of  Ion  a,  to  be  alone  with  God,  all 
took  their  departure  on  the  arrival  of  the  heathen  fol 
lowers  of  Odin  and  Thor,  and  the  Northmen  were  thus 
left  in  undisputed  possession  of  the  soil.  In  about  twenty 
years  the  island  became  quite  thickly  settled,  though  the 
tide  of  immigration  continued  to  flow  in  strongly  for  fifty 
years,  so  that  at  the  beginning  of  the  tenth  century  Ice 
land  possessed  a  population  variously  estimated  from  sixty 
to  seventy  thousand  souls.  But  few  undertook  the  voy 
age  who  were  not  able  to  buy  their  own  vessels,  in  which 
they  carried  over  their  own  cattle,  and  thralls,  and  house 
hold  goods.  So  great  was  the  number  of  people  who  left 
Norway  at  the  outset  that  King  Harold  tried  to  prevent 
emigration  by  royal  authority,  though,  as  might  have 
been  predicted,  his  efforts  were  altogether  in  vain.  Here, 
therefore,  was  formed  a  large  community,  taking  the 

1 "  Tims  saith  the  holy  priest  Bede Therefore  learned  men  think  that 

it  is  Iceland  which  is  called  Thule But  the  holy  priest  Bede  died 

DCCXXXV.  years  after  the  birth  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  more  than  a 
hundred  years  before  Iceland  was  inhabited  by  the  Northmen." — Antiqui- 
tates  Americana,  p.  202.  .This  extract  is  followed  by  the  statement  of  Ari 
Frode,  and  shows  that  the  Irish  Christians  retired  to  Iceland  at  a  very 
early  day.  The  Irish  monk  Dicuil  also  refers  to  this  solitary  island, 
which,  about  the  year  795,  was  visited  by  some  monks  with  whom  he 
had  conversed. 


AMERICA  BY  THE  NORTHMEN.  xxv 

shape  of  an  aristocratic  republic,  which  framed  its  own 
laws,  and  for  a  long  time  maintained  a  genuine  independ 
ence,  in  opposition  to  all  the  assumptions  and  threats  of 
the  Norwegian  king. 


THE  SETTLEMENT  OF  GREENLAND. 

But  as  time  passed  on,  the  people  of  Iceland  felt  a  new 
impulse  for  colonization  in  strange  lands,  and  the  tide  of 
emigration  began  to  tend  towards  Greenland  in  the 
west.  This  was  chiefly  inaugurated  by  a  man  named  Eric 
the  Ked,  born  in  Norway  in  the  year  £>35.  On  account 
of  manslaughter,  he  was  obliged  to  flee  from  Jardar  and 
take  up  his  abode  in  Iceland.  The  date  of  removal  to 
Iceland  is  not  given,  though  it  is  said  that  at  the  time 
the  island  was  very  generally  inhabited.  Here,  however, 
he  could  not  live  in  peace,  and  early  in  the  year  982,  he 
was  again  outlawed  for  manslaughter  by  the  public  Thnig, 
and  condemned  to  banishment.  He  accordingly  fitted  out 
a  ship,  and  announced  his  determination  to  go  in  search 
of  the  land  lying  in  the  ocean  at  the  west,  which,  it  was 
said,  Gunnbiorn,1  Ulf  Krage's  son,  saw,  when,  in  the  year 
876,  he  was  driven  out  to  sea  by  a  storm.  Eric  sailed 
westward  and  found  land,  where  he  remained  and  explored 
the  country  for  three  years.  At  the  end  of  this  period  he 
returned  to  Iceland,  giving  the  newly  discovered  land  the 
name  of  Greenland,2  in  order,  as  he  said,  to  attract  settlers, 


'All  the  information  which  we  possess  relating  to  the  discovery  by 
Gunnbiorn  is  given  in  the  body  of  this  work,  in  extracts  from  Landanama- 
bok. 

2  Claudius  Christophessen,  the  author  of  some  Danish  verses  relating  to 
the  history  of  Greenland,  supposes  that  Greenland  was  discovered  in  the 
year  770,  though  he  gave  no  real  reason  for  his  belief.  M.  Peyrere  also 
tells  us  of  a  Papal  Bull,  issued  in  835,  by  Gregory  IV,  which  refers  to  the 
conversion  of  the  Icelanders  and  Greonlanders.  Yet  this  is  beyond  question 
J) 


XXVI  PRE-COLUMBIAN  DISCOVERY  OF 

who  would  be  favorably  impressed  by  so  pleasing  a 
name. 

The  summer  after  his  return  to  Iceland,  he  sailed  once 
more  for  Greenland,  taking  with  him  a  fleet  of  thirty-five 
ships,  only  fourteen  of  which  reached  their  destination, 
the  rest  being  either  driven  back  or  lost.  This  event  took 
place,  as  the  Saga  says,  fifteen  winters l  before  the  intro 
duction  of  Christianity  into  Iceland,  which  we  know  was 
accomplished  in  the  year  A.  D.  1000.  The  date  of  Eric's 
second  voyage  must  therefore  be  set  down  at  985.2 

But,  before  proceeding  to  the  next  step  in  Icelandic 
adventure,  it  will  be  necessary  to  give  a  brief  sketch  of 
the  progress  of  the  Greenland  colony,  together  with  a 
relation  of  the  circumstances  which  led  to  its  final  extinc 
tion. 


THE  PROGRESS  OF  THE  GREENLAND  COLONIES. 

There  is  but  little  continuity  in  the  history  of  the 
Icelandic  occupation  of  Greenland.  We  have  already 
seen  that  the  second  voyage  of  Eric  the  Red  took  place  in 
the  year  985.  Colonists  appear  to  have  followed  him  in 
considerable  numbers,  and  the  best  portions  of  the  land 
were  soon  appropriated  by  the  principal  men,  who  gave 
the  chief  bays  and  capes  names  that  indicated  the  occu 
pants,  following  the  example  of  Eric,  who  dwelt  in  Brat- 
tahlid,  in  Ericsfiord. 

In  the  year  999,  Leif,  son  of  Eric,  sailed  out  to  Norway 
and  passed  the  winter  at  the  court  of  King  Olaf  Tryggves- 
son,  where  he  accepted  the  Christian  faith,  which  was 
then  being  zealously  propagated  by  the  king.  He  was 


a  fraud.     Gunnbiorn  was  undoubtedly  the  first  to  gain  a  glimpse  of  Green 
land. 

1  The  Northmen  reckoned  by  winters. 

2  See  the  Saga  of  Eric  the  Red. 


AMERICA  BY  THE  NORTHMEN.  xxvii 

accordingly  baptized,  and  when  the  spring  returned  the 
king  requested  him  to  undertake  the  introduction  of 
Christianity  in  Greenland,  urging  the  consideration  that 
no  man  was  better  qualified  for  the  task.  Accordingly  he 
set  sail  from  Norway,  with  a  priest  and  several  members 
of  the  religious  order,  arriving  at  Brattahlid,  in  Green 
land,  without  any  accident.1  His  pagan  father  was 
incensed  by  the  bringing  in  of  the  Christian  priest,  which 
act  he  regarded  as  pregnant  with  evil;  yet,  after  some 
persuasion  on  the  part  of  Leif,  he  renounced  heathenism 
and  nominally  accepted  Christianity,  being  baptized  by 
the  priest.  His  wife  Thorhild  made  less  opposition,  and 
appears  to  have  received  the  new  faith  with  much  willing 
ness.  One  of  her  first  acts  was  to  build  a  church,  which 
was  known  far  and  wide  as  Thorhild's  church.2  These 
examples  appear  to  have  been  very  generally  followed, 
and  Christianity  was  adopted  in  both  Iceland  and  Green 
land  at  about  the  same  period,3  though  its  acceptance 
did  not  immediately  produce  any  very  radical  change  in 
the  spiritual  life  of  the  people.  In  course  of  time  a  num 
ber  of  churches  were  built,  the  ruins  of  which  remain 
down  to  our  own  day. 

In  the  year  1003,  the  Greenlanders  became  tributary  to 
Norway.  The  principal  settlement  was  formed  on  the 
western  coast,  and  what  was  known  as  the  eastern  district, 

did  not  extend  farther  than  the  southern  extremity  towards 

\ 

aThe  statement,  found  in  several  places,  that  lie  discovered  Vinland 
while  on  his  way  to  Greenland,  is  incorrect.  The  full  account  of  his  voy 
ages  shows  that  his  Vinland  voyage  was  an  entirely  separate  thing. 

2  The  author  designs  shortly  to  give  some  full  account  of  the  early  Christ 
ianity  on  the  Western  Continent  in  a  separate  work,  now  well  advanced 
towards   completion.      It  will  include  both  the  Pre  and  P0s£-Columbian 
eras. 

3  Gissur  the  White  and  Hialte,  went  on  the  same  errand  to  Iceland  in 
the  year  1000,  when  the  new  religion  was  formally  adopted  at  the  public 
Tlmig. 


XXviii  PRE-COLUMBIAN  DISCOVERY  OF 

Cape  Farewell.  For  a  long  time  it  was  supposed  that 
the  east  district  was  located  on  the  eastern  coast  of 
Greenland ;  but  the  researches  of  Captain  Graah,  whose 
expedition  went  out  under  the  auspices  of  the  Danish 
government,  proved  very  conclusively  that  no  settlement 
ever  existed  on  the  eastern  shore,  which  for  centuries  has 
remained  blocked  up  by  vast  accumulations  of  ice  that 
floated  down  from  the  arctic  seas.  In  early  times,  as  we 
are  informed  by  the  Sagas,  the  eastern  coast  was  more 
accessible,  yet  the  western  shores  were  so  superior  in  their 
attractions  that  the  colonist  fixed  his  habitation  there. 
The  site  of  the  eastern  settlement  is  that  included  in  the 
modern  district  of  Julian's  Hope,  now  occupied  by  a 
Danish  colony.  The  western  settlement  is  represented 
by  the  habitation  of  Frederikshab,  Godthaab,  Sukkertop- 
pen  and  Holsteinborg. 


THE  ORGANIZATION  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

In  process  of  time  the  Christians  in  Greenland  multiplied 
to  such  an  extent,  both  by  conversions  and  by  the  immi 
gration  from  Iceland,  that  it  was  found  necessary,  in 
the  beginning  of  the  twelfth  century  to  take  some  measures 
for  the  better  government  of  the  church,  especially  as 
they  could  not  hope  much  for  regular  visits  from  the 
bishops  of  Iceland.  They  therefore  resolved  to  make  an 
effort  to  secure  a  bishop  of  their  own.  Eric  Gnupson,  of 
Iceland,  was  selected  for  the  office,  and  proceeded  to 
Greenland  about  the  year  1112,  without  being  regularly 
consecrated.  He  returned  to  Iceland  in  1120,  and  after 
wards  went  to  Denmark,  where  he  was  consecrated  in 
Lund,  by  Archbishop  Adzer.  Yet  he  probably  never 
returned  to  his  duties  in  Greenland,  but  soon  after 


AMERICA  BY  THE  NORTHMEN.  Xxix 

resigned  that  bishopric  and  accepted  another,1  thus  leav 
ing  Greenland  without  a  spiritual  director. 

In  the  year  1123,  Sokke,  one  of  the  principal  men  of 
Greenland,  assembled  the  people  and  represented  to  them 
that  both  the  welfare  of  the  Christian  faith  and  their  own 
honor  demanded  that  they  should  follow  the  example  of 
other  nations  and  maintain  a  bishop.  To  this  view  they 
gave  their  unanimous  approval ;  and  Einar,  son  of  Sokke, 
was  appointed  a  delegate  to  the  court  of  King  Sigurd,  of 
Norway.  He  carried  a  present  of  ivory  and  fur,  and  a 
petition  for  the  appointment  of  a  bishop.  His  mission 
was  successful,  and  in  the  year  1126  Arnald,  the  succes 
sor  of  Eric,2  came  into  Greenland,  and  set  up  the  Episcopal 
seat  at  Gardar.3  Torfseus  and  Baron  Holberg,4  give  a 
list  of  seventeen  bishops  who  ruled  in  Greenland,  ending  ' 
with  Andrew.  The  latter  was  consecrated  and  went 
thither  in  1408,  being  never  heard  of  afterwards. 

The  history  of  Old  Greenland  is  found  in  the  Ecclesias 
tical  Annals,  and  consists  of  a  mere  skeleton  of  facts.  As 
in  Iceland  and  Norway  there  was  no  end  of  broils  and 
bloodshed.  A  very  considerable  trade  was  evidently 
carried  on  between  that  country  and  Norway,  which  is 
the  case  at  the  present  time  with  Denmark.  As  the  land 
afforded  no  materials  for  ships,  they  depended  in  a  great 
measure  upon  others  for  communication  with  the  mother 
countries,  which  finally  proved  disastrous. 


1  It  will  be  seen  hereafter  that  he  went    and  established  himself  in 
Vinland. 

2  See  Memoires  des  Antiquaires  du  Nord,  p.  383. 

3  The  location  of  Gardar  is  now  uncertain.     At  one  time  it  was  supposed 
to  have  been  situated  on  the  eastern  coast ;  but  since  it  became  so  clear 
that  the  east  coast  was  never  inhabited,  that  view  has  been  abandoned, 
though  the  name  appears  in  old  maps. 

4  See  Crantz's  Greenland,  vol.  i,  p.  252. 


XXX  PRE-COLUMBIAN  DISCOVERY  OF 


MONUMENTS  AND  RUINS. 

Their  villages  and  farms  were  numerous.  Together 
they  probably  numbered  several  hundred,  the  ruins  now 
left  being  both  abundant  and  extensive.  Near  Igaliko, 
which  is  supposed  to  be  the  same  as  the  ancient  Einars- 
fiord,  are  the  ruins  of  a  church,  probably  the  cathedral  of 
Gardar.  It  is  called  the  Kakortok  church.  It  was  of 
simple  but  massive  architecture,  and  the  material  was 
taken  from  the  neighboring  cliffs.  The  stone  is  rough 
hewn,  and  but  few  signs  of  mortar  are  visible.  It  is  fifty- 
one  feet  long  and  twenty-five  wide.  The  north  and 
south  walls  are  over  four  feet  thick,  while  the  end  walls 
are  still  more  massive. 

Nor  are  other  monuments  wanting.  At  Igalikko,  nine 
miles  from  Julian's  Hope,  a  Greenlander  being  one  day 
employed  in  obtaining  stones  to  repair  his  house,  found 
among  a  pile  of  fragments  a  smooth  stone  that  bore, 
what  seemed  to  him,  written  characters.  He  mentioned 
the  circumstance  to  Mr.  Mathieson,  the  colonial  director 
at  Julian's  Hope,  who  inferred  that  it  must  be  a  runic 
stone.  He  was  so  fortunate  as  to  find  it  afterwards,  and 
he  accordingly  sent  it  to  Copenhagen,  where  it  arrived  in 
the  year  1830.  The  runes,  which  were  perfectly  distinct, 
showed  that  it  was  a  tombstone.  The  inscription  was 
translated  as  follows : 

"ViGDis  MARS  DAUGHTER  RESTS  HERE. 
MAY  GOD  GLADDEN  HER  SOUL." 

Another  found  in  1831,  by  the-  Rev.  Mr.  De  Fries,  princi 
pal  of  the  Moravian  Mission,  bore  the  following  inscription 
in  the  runic  letter : 

"  HERE  RESTS  HROAR  KOLGRIMSSON." 


AMERICA  BY  THE  NORTHMEN.  xxxi 

This  stone,  now  in  the  museum  at  Copenhagen,  was  found 
built  into  the  wall  over  the  entrance  of  a  Greenland  house, 
having  been  taken  for  that  purpose  from  a  heap  of  ruins, 
about  two  miles  north  of  Friederichsthal.  This  stone  is 
more  than  three  feet  long,  being  eighteen  inches  wide  in 
the  narrowest  part,  and  about  five  inches  thick.  It  bears 
every  sign  of  a  high  antiquity. 

But  one  of  the  most  interesting  remains  which  prove 
the  Icelandic  occupation  of  Greenland  is  the  runic  stone 
found  by  Parry,  yi  1824,  in  the  island  of  Kingiktorsoak, 
lying  in  72°  55'  K  and  56°  51'  W.'  It  contained  a  some- 
w^hat  lengthy  inscription,  and  copies  of  it  were  sent  to 
three  of  the  first  scholars  of  the  age,  Finn  Magnusson, 
Professor  Rask,  and  Dr.  Bryniulfson,  who,  without  consult 
ation,  at  once  arrived  at  the  same  conclusion  and  united 
in  giving  the  following  translation  : 

"  ERLING  SIGHVATSON  AND   BIORN  THORDARSON   AND 

EINDRID    ODDSON,  ON   SATURDAY   BEFORE 

ASCENSION   WEEK,  RAISED   THESE 

MARKS  AND    CLEARED 

GROUND.    1135. l 

The  Icelandic  colonists  in  Greenland  do  not  appear  to 
have  been  confined  to  a  small  portion  of  territory.  We 
find  considerable  relating  to  this  subject  in  the  chronicle 
attributed  to  Ivar  Bert,2  the  steward  of  one  of  the  bishops 
of  Greenland;  yet,  though  used  extensively  by  Torfseus, 
modern  researches  in  this  country  prove  that  it  is  in  some 
respects  faulty.  In  this  chronicle,  as  in  the  Sagas,  the 


1  These  inscriptions  are  all  in  fair  runic  letters,  about  which  there  can  be 
no  mistake,  and  are  totally  unlike  the  imaginary  runes,  among  which 
we  may  finally  feel  obliged  to  class  those  of  the  Dighton  rock. 

2  See  Egede's  Greenland,  p.  xxv ;   Crantz's  Greenland,  vol.  i,  pp.  247-8  ; 
Purchas,  His  Pilgrimes,  vol.  in,  p.  518  ;  Antiquitates  Americana*,  p.  300. 


XXXli .  PRE-COLUMBIAN  DISCOVERY  OF 

colonists  are  spoken  of  as  possessing  horses,  sheep  and 
oxen ;  and  their  churches  and  religious  houses  appear  to 
have  been  well  supported. 


EXPLORATIONS  IN  GREENLAND. 

Much  was  done,  it  appears,  in  the  way  of  exploring  the 
extreme  northern  portions  of  the  country  known  as 
Nordrsetur.  In  the  year  1266,  a  voyage  was  made  under  the 
auspices  of  some  of  the  priests,  and  the  adventurers  pene 
trated  north  of  Lancaster  sound,  reaching  about  the 
same  latitude  that  was  attained  by  Parry  in  1827.  This 
expedition  was  of  sufficient  importance  to  justify  some 
notice  of  it  here.  The  account  is  found  in  Antiqultates 
Americanos  (p.  269),  and  it  sets  out  with  the  statement  that 
the  narrative  of  the  expedition  was  sent  by  Haldor,  a 
priest,  to  Arnald,  the  chaplain  of  King  Magnus  in  Nor 
way.  They  sailed  out  of  Kroksfiardarheidi  in  an  open 
boat,  and  met  with  southerly  winds  and  thick  weather, 
which  forced  them  to  let  the  boat  drive  before  the  wind. 
"When  the  weather  cleared,  they  saw  a  number  of  islands, 
together  with  whales  and  seals  and  bears.  They  made 
their  way  into  the  most  distant  portion  of  the  sea,  and  saw 
glaciers  south  of  them  as  far  as  the  eye  could  reach. 
They  also  saw  indications  of  the  natives,  who  were  called 
Skrsellings,  but  did  not  land,  on  account  of  the  number  of 
the  bears.  They  therefore  put  about,  and  laid  their 
course  southward  for  nearly  three  days,  finding  more 
islands,  with  traces  of  the  natives.  They  saw  a  mountain 
which  they  call  Snsefell,  and  on  St.  James  day,  July  25, 
they  had  a  severe  weather,  being  obliged  to  row  much  and 
very  hard.  It  froze  during  the  night  in  that  region,  but 
the  sun  was  above  the  horizon  both  day  and  night.  When 
the  sun  was  on  the  southern  meridian,  and  a  man  lay  down 
crosswise  in  a  six-oared  boat,  the  shadow  of  the  gunwale 


AMERICA  BY  THE  NORTHMEN.  xxxiii 

towards  the  sun  would  reach  as  far  as  his  feet,  which,  of 
course,  indicates  that  the  sun  was  very  low.  Afterwards 
they  all  returned  in  safety  to  Gardar.1  Kafn  fixes  the 
position  of  the  point  attained  by  the  expedition  in  the 
parallel  of  75°  46'.  Such  an  achievement  at  that  day 
indicates  a  degree  of  boldness  quite  surprising. 


THE  DECLINE  OF  GREENLAND. 

Of  the  reality  and  importance  of  the  Greenland  colony 
there  exists  no  doubt,  notwithstanding  the  records  are  so 
meagre  and  fragmentary.2  It  maintained  its  connection 
with  the  mother  countries  for  a  period  of  no  less  than  four 
hundred  years ;  yet  it  finally  disappeared  and  was  almost 
forgotten. 

The  causes  which  led  to  the  suspension  of  communication 
were  doubtless  various,  though  it  is  difficult  to  account  for 
the  utter  extinction  of  the  colony,  which  does  not  appear 
ever  to  have  been  in  much  danger  from  the  Skrsellings. 
On  one  occasion,  in  1349  or  later,  the  natives  attacked  the 
western  settlement,  it  is  said,  and  killed  eighteen  Green- 
landers  of  Icelandic  lineage,  carrying  away  two  boys  captives. 

We  hear  from  the  eastern  colony  as  late  as  the  middle 
of  the  fifteenth  century.  Trade  was  carried  on  with 
Denmark  until  nearly  the  end  of  the  fourteenth  century, 
although  the  voyages  were  not  regular.  The  last  bishop, 
Andreas,  was  sent  out  in  1406,  and  Professor  Finn  Mag- 
imssen  has  established  the  fact  that  he  officiated  in  the 
cathedral  at  Gardar  in  1409.3 


1  Antiquitates  Americana},  p.  xxxix. 

2wFor  the  account  of  the  manuscripts  upon  which  our  knowledge  of  Green 
land  is  founded,  see  Antiquitates  Americana,  p.  255. 

3  In  that  year  parties  are  known  to  have  contracted  marriage  at  Gardar, 
from  whom  Finn  Magnussen  and  other  distinguished  men  owe  their 
descent. 

E 


XXxiv  PRE-COLUMBIAN  DISCOVERY  OF 

From  this  time  the  trade  between  Norway  and  Green 
land  appears  to  have  been  given  up,  though  Wormius 
told  Peyrere  of  his  having  read  in  a  Danish  manuscript 
that  down  to  the  year  1484  there  was  a  company  of  more 
than  forty  sailors  at  Bergen,  in  Norway,  who  still  traded 
with  Greenland.1  But  as  the  revenue  at  that  time  belonged 
to  Queen  Margaret  of  Denmark,  no  one  could  go  to  Green 
land  without  the  royal  permission.  One  company  of 
sailors  who  were  driven  upon  the  Greenland  coast,  came 
near  suffering  the  penalty  of  the  law  on  their  return. 
Crantz  2  says,  that  "  about  the  year  1530,  Bishop  Amund 
of  Skalholt  in  Iceland  is  said  to  have  been  driven  by  a . 
storm,  on  his  return  from  Norway,  so  near  the  coast  of 
Greenland  by  Heriulfness,  that  he  could  see  the  people 
driving  in  their  cattle.  But  he  did  not  land,  because  just 
then  a  good  wind  arose,  which  carried  the  ship  the  same 
night  to  Iceland.  The  Icelander,  Bisernvon  Skardfa,  who 
relates  this,  also  says  further,  that  a  Hamburgh  mariner, 
Jon  Greenlander  by  name^  was  driven  three  times  on  the 
Greenland  island,  where  he  saw  such'  fisher's  huts  for 
drying  fish  as  they  have  in  Iceland,  bat  saw  no  men; 
further,  that  pieces  of  shattered  boats,  nay,  in  the  year 
1625,  an  entire  boat,  fastened  together  with  sinews 
arid  wooden  pegs,  and  pitched  with  seal  blubber,  have 
been  driven  ashore  at  Iceland  from  time  to  time;  and 
since  then  they  found  once  an  oar  with  a  sentence  written 
in  Eunic  letters  :  <  Oft  var  ek  dasa,  dur  elk  drothik,'  that  is, 
6  Oft  was  I  tired  when  I  drew  thee.'  " 3 


Greenland,  p.  xlvii. 

2  Ibid.,  xlviii. 

3  Crantz's  Greenland,  vol.  i,  p.  264. 


AMERICA  BY  THE  NORTHMEN.  XXXV 

LOST  GREENLAND  FOUND. 

But,  whatever  may  be  the  value  of  the  preceding  extract, 
it  is  clear  that  Greenland  was  never  wholly  forgotten.  The 
first  person  who  proposed  to  reopen  communication  was 
Eric  Walkendorf,  Archbishop  of  Drontheim,  who  familiar 
ized  himself  with  the  subject,  and  made  every  preparation 
necessary  in  order  to  reestablish  the  colony ;  but,  having 
fallen  under  the  displeasure  of  King  Christian  II,  he  left 
the  country  and  went  to  Rome,  where  he  died  in  the  year 
1521.  Thus  his  plans  came  to  nothing.1  Christian  III 
abrogated  the  decree  of  Queen  Margaret,  prohibiting  trade 
with  Greenland  without  the  royal  permission,  and  encour 
aged  voyages  by  fitting  out  a  vessel  to  search  for  Green 
land,  which,  however,  was  not  found.  In  1578,  Frederic  II 
sent  out  Magnus  Henningsen.  He  came  in  sight  of  the 
land,  but  does  not  appear  to  have  had  the  courage  to 
proceed  further.  Crantz,  in  his  work  on  Greenland,  gives 
an  account  of  a  number  of  voyages  undertaken  to  the  coast, 
but  says  that  "  at  last  Greenland  was  so  buried  in  oblivion 
that  one  hardly  would  believe  that  such  a  land  as  Green 
land  was  inhabited  by  Christian  Norwegians." 2 

It  remained,  therefore,  for  Hans  Egede,3  in  1721,  to 
reopen  communication,  and  demonstrate  the  reality  of  the 
previous  occupation.  Columbus  himself  did  not  meet 
with  greater  trials  and  mortification  than  did  this  good 
man  for  the  space  of  eleven  years,  during  which  period  he 
labored  to  persuade  the  authorities  to  undertake  the  redis 
covery.  But  his  faith  and  zeal  finally  overcame  all 


1  Crantz's  Greenland,  p.  274. 

2  Ibid.,  p.  279. 

3  Hans  Egede  was  a  clergyman  in  priest's  orders,  and  minister  of  the 
congregation   at  Vogen  in    the  northern   part  of  Norway,  where  lie  was 
highly  esteemed  and  beloved.     He  spent  fifteen  years  as  a  missionary  in 
(iivmland,  and  died  at  Copenhagen,  1758. 


XXXVI  PRE-COLUMBIAN  DISCOVERY  OF 

hostility  and  ridicule,  and  on  the  second  day  of  May, 
1721,  he  went  on  board  the  Hope,  with  his  wife  and  four 
young  children,  and  landed  at  Ball's  river  in  Greenland 
on  the  third  of  the  following  month.  Here  he  spent  the 
best  portion  of  his  life  in  teaching  the  natives  Christianity, 
which  had  been  first  introduced  seven  centuries  before, 
and  in  making  those  explorations  the  results  of  which 
filled  the  mind  of  Europe  with  surprise,  and  afforded  a 
confirmation  of  the  truthfulness  of  the  Icelandic  Sagas. 


THE  CHARACTER  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS  OF  THE  NORTHMEN. 

Let  us  now  return  to  the  consideration  of  the  Ice 
landic  voyages  to  the  American  Continent,  though  not 
without  first  seeking  a  better  acquaintance  with  the  men 
by  whom  they  were  performed. 

"We  have  already  seen  that  the  Northmen  were  a  people 
of  no  inferior  attainments.  Indeed,  they  constituted  the 
most  enterprising  portion  of  the  race,  and,  on  general 
principles,  we  should  therefore  view  them  as  fitted  even 
above  all  the  men  of  their  time  for  the  important  work 
of  exploration  beyond  the  seas.  They  had  made  them 
selves  known  in  every  part  of  the  civilized  world  l  by  their 
daring  as  soldiers  and  navigators.  Straying  away  into 
the  distant  east  from  whence  they  originally  came,  we  see 
them  laying  the  foundation  of  the  Eussian  empire,  swing 
ing  their  battle-axes  in  the  streets  of  Constantinople, 
carving  their  mystic  runes  upon  the  Lions  of  the  Areopa 
gus,  and  filling  the  heart  of  even  the  great  Charlemagne 
with  dismay.  Says  Dasent,  when  summing  up  their 
achievements :  "In  Byzantium  they  are  the  leaders  of  the 
Greek  emperor's  body  guard,  and  the  main  support  of  his 


^he  motto  on  the  sword  of  Roger  Guiscard  was : 

"  Apputus  et  Calaber  Siculus  miJii  JServtt  et  Afcr." 


AMERICA  BY  THE  NORTHMEN.  xxxvii 

tottering  throne.  From.  France,  led  by  Bollo,  they  tear 
away  her  fairest  province  and  found  a  long  line  of  kings. 
In  Saxon  England  they  are  the  bosom  friends  of  such  kings 
as  Athelstane,  and  the  sworn  foes  of  Ethelred  the  Unready. 
In  Danish  England  they  are  the  foremost  among  the 
thanes  of  Canute,  Swein  and  Hardicanute,  and  keep  down 
the  native  population  with  an  iron  heel.  In  Norman 
England,"  he  continues,  "  the  most  serious  opposition  the 
conqueror  meets  with  is  from  the  colonists  of  his  own 
race  settled  in  Northumbria.  He  wastes  their  lands  with 
fire  and  sword,  and  drives  them  across  the  border,  where 
we  still  find  their  energy,  their  perseverance,  and  their 
speech  existing  in  the  lowland  Scotch.  In  Norway  they 
dive  into  the  river  with  King  Olaf  Tryggvesson,  the  best 
and  strongest  champion  of  his  age,  and  hold  him  down 
beneath  the  waves  so  long  that  the  bystanders  wonder 
whether  either  king  or  Icelander  will  ever  reappear  on 
the  surface.1  Some  follow  Saint  Olaf  in  his  crusades 
against  the  old  [pagan]  faith.2  Some  are  his  obstinate 
foes,  and  assist  at  his  martyrdom.  Many  follow  Harold 
the  Stern  to  England  when  he  goes  to  get  his  '  seven  feet ' 
of  English  earth,  and  almost  to  a  man  they  get  their 
portion  of  the  same  soil,  while  their  names  grow  bright 
in  song  and  story."  And  finally,  "From  Iceland  as  a 
base,  they  push  on  to  Greenland  and  colonize  it :  nay,  they 
discover  America  in  those  half-decked  barks." 3 

THE  SHIPS  OF  THE  NORTHMEN. 

The  Northmen  were  excellent  navigators.  They  were, 
moreover,  it  has  been  claimed,  the  first  to  learn  the  art 
of  sailing  on  the  wind.  They  had  good  sea-going  vessels, 

1  See  Laing's  Heimskrinyla,  vol.  II,  p.  450.     This  refers  to  his  swimming 
match  with  Kiarten  the  Icelander,  in  which  the  kino-  was  beaten. 

2  See  Saga  of  Saint  (not  king)  Olaf. 

3  Des  Ant'iqmtireis  du  Nord,  1859. 


XXXviii  PRE-COLUMBIAN  DISCOVERY  OF 

some  of  which  were  of  large  size.  We  have  an  account 
in  the  Saga  of  Olaf  Tryggvesson  of  one  that  in  some 
respects  was  remarkable.  It  is  said  that  "  the  winter  after 
King  Olaf  Tryggvesson  came  from  Halogeland.  He  had  a 
great  ship  built  at  Ledehammer,1  which  was  larger  than 
any  ship  in  the  country,  and  of  which  the  beam-knees  are 
still  to  be  seen.  The  length  of  the  keel  that  rested  upon 
the  grass  was  seventy-four  ells.  Thorberg  Skafting  was 
the  man's  name  who  was  the  master  builder  of  the  ship, 
but  there  were  many  others  besides ;  some  to  fell  the 
wood,  some  to  shape  it,  some  to  make  nails,  some  to  carry 
timber,  and  all  that  was  used  was  the  best.  The  ship 
was  both  long  and  broad  and  high  sided,  and  strongly 

timbered The  ship  was  a  dragon,  built  after  the  one 

that  the  king  had  captured  in  Halogaland,  but  it  was 
far  longer  and  more  carefully  put  together  in  all  her  parts. 
The  Long  Serpent  [her  name]  had  thirty-four  benches 
for  rowers.  The  head  and  arched  tail  were  both  gilt,  and 
the  bulwarks  were  as  high  as  in  sea-going  ships.  This  ship 
was  the  best  and  most  costly  ever  built  in  Norway.'. 2 


1  Ledehammer.     The  point  of  land  near  the  house  of  Lede,  just  below 
Drontheim. 

2  Laing's  Heimskringla,  vol.  I,  p.  457.     It  is  related  that  while  they  were 
planking  the  ship,  "it  happened  that  Thorberg  had  to  go  home  to  his 
farm  upon  some  urgent  business ;  and  as  he  stayed  there  a  long  time,  the 
ship  was  planked  upon  both  sides  when  he  came  back.     In  the  evening  the 
king  went  out  and  Thorberg  with  him,  to  see  how  the  ship  looked,  and  all 
said  that  never  was  seen  so  large  and  fine  a  ship  of  war.     Then  the  king 
went  back  to  the  town.     Early  the  next  morning  the  king  came  back 
again  to  the  ship,  and   Thorberg  with  him.     The  carpenters  were  there 

'before  them,  but  all  were  standing  idle  with  their  hands  across.  The  king 
asked,  "  What  is  the  matter  ?  "  They  said  the  ship  was  ruined  ;  for  some 
body  had  gone  from  stem  to  stern,  and  cut  one  deep  notch  after  another 
down  the  one  side  of  the  planking.  When  the  king  came  nearer  he  saw 
that  it  was  so,  and  said  with  an  oath,  '  The  man  shall  die  who  has  thus 
ruined  the  ship  out  of  malice,  if  he  can  be  found,  and  I  will  give  a  great 
reward  to  him  who  finds  him  out.'  'I  can  tell  you,  king,'  says  Thorberg, 


AMERICA  BY  THE  NORTHMEN.  XXXIX 

Laing  computes  the  tonnage  of  this  ship  at  about  nine 
hundred  and  forty-two  tons,  thus  giving  a  length  of  about 
one  hundred  feet,  which  is  nearly  the  size  of  a  forty-two 
gun  ship.  By  steam  tonnage  it  would  give  a  capacity  of 
a  little  less  than  three  hundred  tons,  and  one  hundred  and 
twenty  horse  power.  "We  apprehend,  however,  that  the 
estimate  is  sufficiently  large;  yet  we  are  not  concerned  to 
show  any  great  capacity  for  the  Icelandic  ships.  All  the 
vessels  employed  in  the  early  times  on  the  American 
coasts  were  small.  Cabot  sailed  in  Baffins  Bay  with  a 
vessel  of  thirty  tons ;  and  the  Anna  Pink,  the  craft  that 
accompanied  Lord  Anson  in  his  expedition  around  the 
world,  was  only  sixteen  tons.1  The  vessels  possessed  by 
the  Northmen  were  everyway  adapted  for  an  ocean"  voy 
age. 

In  nautical  knowledge,  also,  they  were  not  behind  the 
age.  The  importance  of  cultivating  the  study  of  naviga 
tion  was  fully  understood.  The  Kaudulf  of  Oesterdai,  in 


'  who  has  done  this  piece  of  work.'  '  I  don't  think  that  any  one  is  so  likely 
to  find  it  out  as  thou  art.'  Thorberg  says  :  '  I  will  tell  you,  king,  who  did 
it,  I  did  it  myself.'  The  king  says,  '  Thou  must  restore  it  all  to  the  same 
condition  as  before,  or  thy  life  shall  pay  for  it.'  Then  Thorberg  went  and 
chipped  the  planks  until  the  deep  notches  were  all  smoothed  and  made 
even  with  the  rest ;  and  the  king  and  all  present  declared  that  the  ship 
was  much  handsomer  on  the  side  of  the  hull  which  Thorberg  had  chipped, 
and  bade  him  shape  the  other  side  in  the  same  way  and  gave  him  great 
thanks  for  the  improvement." 

1 A  few  years  ago  two  very  ancient  vessels  which  probably  belonged  to 
the  seventh  century  were  exhumed  on  the  coast  of  Denmark,  seven  thou 
sand  feet  from  the  sea,  where  they  were  scuttled  and  sunk.  The  changes 
in  the  coast  finally  left  them  imbedded  in  the  sand.  One  vessel  was 
seventy-two  feet  long,  and  nine  feet  wide  amid  ships.  The  other  was 
forty-two  feet  long,  and  contained  two  eight-sided  spars,  twenty-four  feet 
loi\g.  The  bottoms  were  covered  with  mats  of  withes  for  the  purpose 
of  keeping  them  dry.  Among  the  contents  was  a  Damascened  sword,  with 
runes,  showing  that  the  letter  existed  among  the  Northmen  in  the  seventh 
centurv. 


xl  PRE-COLUMBIAN  DISCOVERY  OF 

Norway,  taught  his  son  to  calculate  the  course  of  the  sun 
and  moon,  and  how  to  measure  time  by  the  stars.  In 
1520  Olaus  Magnus  complained  that  the  knowledge  of  the 
people  in  this  respect  had  been  diminished.  In  that  noble 
work  called  Speculum  Regale  the  Icelander  is  taught  to 
make  an  especial  study  of  commerce  and  navigation,  of 
the  divisions  of  time  and  the  movements  of  the  heavenly 
bodies,  together  with  arithmetic,  the  rigging  of  vessels 
and  morals.1  Without  a  high  degree  of  knowledge  they 
could  never  have  achieved  their  eastern  voyages. 


THE  DISCOVERY  OF  AMERICA. 

We  find  that  the  Northmen  were  well  acquainted  with 
other  parts  of  the  world,  and  that  they  possessed  all  the 
means  of  reaching  the  continent  in  the  west.  We  come, 
therefore,  to  the  question  :  Did  the  Northmen  actually 
discover  and  explore  the  coast  of  the  country  now  known 
as  America  ? 

No  one  can  say  that  the  idea  wears  any  appearance  of 
improbability ;  for  there  is  certainly  nothing  wonderful  in 
the  exploit.  And  after  conceding  the  fact  that  the 
colonies  of  the  Northmen  existed  in  Greenland  for  at 
least  three  hundred  years  we  must  prepare  ourselves  for 
something  of  this  kind.  Indeed  it  is  well  nigh,  if  not 


1  The  people  of  Iceland  were  always  noted  for  their  superiority  in  this 
respect  over  their  kinsmen  in  Denmark  and  Norway.  There  is  one  signi 
ficant  fact  bearing  on  this  point,  which  is  this  :  that,  while  a  few  of  the 
people  of  Iceland  went  at  an  early  period  to  engage  in  piratical  excursions 
with  the  vikings  of  Norway,  not  a  single  pirate  ship  ever  sailed  from 
Iceland.  Such  ways  were  condemned  altogether  at  an  early  day,  while 
various  European  nations  continued  to  sanction  piracy  down  to  recent  periods. 
Again  it  should  be  remembered  that  in  Iceland  duelling  was  also  solemnly 
declared  illegal  as  early  as  1011,  and  in  Norway  the  following  year ;  while 
in  England  it  did  not  cease  to  be  a  part  of  the  judicial  process  until  1818. 
See  Sir  Edmund  Head's  Viga-Glum  Saga,  p.  120. 


AMERICA  BY  THE  NORTHMEN.  xji 

altogether  unreasonable,  to  suppose  that  a  sea-faring  people 
like  the  Northmen  could  live  for  three  centuries  within  a 
short  voyage  of  this  vast  continent,  and  never  become 
aware  of  its  existence.  A  supposition  like  this  implies  a 
rare  credulity,  and  whoever  is  capable  of  believing  it 
must  be  capable  of  believing  almost  anything. 

But  on  this  point  we  are  not  left  to  conjecture.  The 
whole  decision,  in  the  absence  of  monuments  like  those 
of  Greenland,  turns  upon  a  question  of  fact.  The  point  is 
this  :  Do  the  manuscripts  which  describe  these  voyages  belong 
to  the  pre-Columbian  age?  If  so,  then  the  Northmen  are 
entitled  to  the  credit  of  the  prior  discovery  of  America. 
That  these  manuscripts  belong  to  the  pre-Columbian  age, 
is  as  capable  of  demonstration  as  the  fact  that  the  writings 
of  Homer  existed  prior  to  the  age  of  Christ.  Before 
intelligent  persons  deny  either  of  these  points  they  must 
first  succeed  in  blotting  out  numberless  pages  of  well 
known  history.  The  manuscript  in  which  we  have  ver 
sions  of  all  the  Sagas  relating  to  America  is  found  in  the 
celebrated  Codex  Platoiensis,  a  work  that  was  finished  in 
the  year  1387,  or  1395  at  the  latest.  This  collection,  made 
with  great  care  and  executed  in  the  highest  style  of  art, 
is  now  preserved  in  its  integrity *  in  the  archives  of  Copen 
hagen.  These  manuscripts  were  for  a  time  supposed  to 
be  lost,  but  were  ultimately  found  safely  lodged  in  their 
repository  in  the  monastery  library  of  the  island  of  Flato, 
from  whence  they  were  transferred  to  Copenhagen  with  a 


1  Those  who  imagine  that  these  manuscripts,  while  of  pre-Columbian 
origin,  have  been  tampered  with  and  interpolated,  show  that  they  have  not 
the  faintest  conception  of  the  state  of  the  question.  The  accounts  of  the 
voyages  of  the  Northmen  to  America  form  the  framework  of  Sagas 
which  would  actually  be  destroyed  by  the  elimination  of  the  narratives. 
There  is  only  one  question  to  be  decided,  and  that  is  the  date  of  these 
compositions. 

F 


xlii  PRE-COLUMBIAN  DISCOVERY  OF 

large  quantity  of  other  literary  material  collected  from 
various  localities.  If  these  Sagas  which  refer  to  America 
were  interpolations,  it  would  have  early  become  apparent, 
as  abundant  means  exist  for  detecting  frauds ;  yet  those 
who  have  examined  the  whole  question  do  not  find  any 
evidence  that  invalidates  their  historical  statements.  In 
the  absence,  therefore,  of  respectable  testimony  to  the 
contrary,  we  accept  it  as  a  fact  that  the  Sagas  relating  to 
America  are  the  productions  of  the  men  who  gave  them 
in  their  present  form  nearly,  if  not  quite,  an  entire  century 
before  the  age  of  Columbus. 

It  might  also  be  argued,  if  it  were  at  all  necessary,  that, 
if  these  Sagas  were  post-Columbian  compositions  drawn 
up  by  Icelanders  who  were  jealous  of  the  fame  of  the 
Geneose  navigator,  we  should  certainly  be  able  to  point 
out  something  either  in  their  structure,  bearing,  or  style 
by  which  it  would  be  indicated.  Yet  such  is  not  the  case. 
These  writings  reveal  no  anxiety,  to  show  the  connection 
of  the  Northmen  with  the  great  land  lying  at  the  west. 
The  authors  do  not  see  anything  at  all  remarkable  or 
meritorious. in  the  explorations,  which  were  conducted 
simply  for  the  purpose  of  gain.  Those  marks  which  would 
certainly  have  been  impressed  by  a  more  modern  writer 
forging  a  historical  composition  designed  to  show  an 
occupation  of  the  country  before  the  time  of  Columbus, 
are  wholly  wanting.  There  is  no  special  pleading  or 
rivalry,  and  no  desire  to  show  prior  and  superior  know 
ledge  of  the  country  to  which  the  navigators  had  from 
time  to  time  sailed.  We  only  discover  a  straightforward, 
honest  endeavor  to  tell  the  story  of  certain  men's  lives. 
This  is  done  in  a  simple,  artless  way,  and  with  every  indi 
cation  of  a  desire  to  mete  out  even  handed  justice  to  all. 
And  candid  readers  who  come  to  the  subject  with  minds 
free  from  prejudice,  will  be  powerfully  impressed  with  the 


AMERICA  BY  THE  NORTHMEN.  xliii 

belief  that   they  are  reading   authentic   histories  written 
'  by  honest  men.1  < 


THE  LITERATURE  OF  ICELAND. 

Before  speaking  particularly  of  the  substance  of  the 
Sagas  it  will  be  necessary  to  trace  briefly  the  origin  and 
history  of  Icelandic  literature  in  general. 

We  have  already  mentioned  the  fact  that  Iceland  was 
mainly  settled  by  Norwegians  of  superior  qualities.  And 
this  superiority  was  always  maintained,  though  it  was  some 
what  slow  in  manifesting  itself  in  the  form  of  literature. 
Prior  to  the  year  1000,  the  Runic  alphabet  had  existed  in 
Iceland,  but  it  was  generally  used  for  the  simplest  pur- 


1  Tlie  fact  that  Mr.  Bancroft  has  in  times  past  expressed  opinions  in 
opposition  to  this  view  will  hardly  have  weight  with  those  persons  familiar 
with  the  subject.  When  that  writer  composed  the  first  chapter  of  his 
History  of  the  United  States,  he  might  have  been  excused  for  setting  down 
the  Icelandic  narratives  as  shadowy  fables ;  but,  with  all  the  knowledge 
shed  upon  the  subject  at  present,  we  have  a  right  to  look  for  something 
better.  It  is  therefore  unsatisfactory  to  find  him  perpetuating  his  early 
views  in  each  successive  edition  of  the  work,  which  show  the  same  know 
ledge  of  the  subject  betrayed  at  the  beginning.  He  tells  us  that  these 
voyages  "  rest  on  narratives  mythological  in  form,  and  obscure  in  meaning," 
which  certainly  cannot  be  the  case.  Furthermore  they  are  "  not  contempo 
rary  ; "  which  is  true,  even  with  regard  to  Mr.  Bancroft's  own  work.  Again, 
"  The  chief  document  is  an  interpolation  in  the  history  of  Sturleson."  This 
cannot  be  true  in  the  sense  intended,  for  Mr.  Bancroft  conveys  the  idea  that 
the  principal  narrative  first  appeared  in  Sturleson's  history  when  published 
at  a  late  day.  It  is  indeed  well  known  that  one  version,  but  not  the 
principal  version,  was  interpolated  in  Peringskiold's  edition  of  Sturleson's 
Heimskringla,  printed  at  Copenhagen.  But  Bancroft  teaches  that  these 
relations  are  of  a  modern  date,  while  it  is  well  known  that  they  were  taken 
verbatim  from  Codex  Flatoiensis,  finished  in  the  year  1395.  He  is  much 
mistaken  in  supposing  that  the  northern  Antiquarians  think  any  more 
highly  of  the  narratives  in  question,  because  they  once  happened  to  be 
printed  in  connection  with  Sturleson's  great  work.  He  tells  us  that  Sturle 
son  "  could  hardly  have  neglected  the  discovery  of  a  continent,"  if  such  an 
event  had  taken  place.  But  this,  it  should  be  remembered,  depends  upon 


Xliv  PRE-COLUMBIAN  DISCOVERY  OF 

poses.1  History  and  literature  derived  no  advantage,  as 
the  runes  were  used  chiefly  for  monumental  inscriptions, 
and  for  mottoes  and  charms  on  such  things  as  drinking  cups, 
sacrifical  vessels  and  swords.  Yet  the  people  were  not 
without  a  kind  of  intellectual  stimulus.  It  had  long  been 
the  custom  to  preserve  family  and  general  histories,  and 
recite  them  from  memory  as  occasion  seemed  to  warrant. 
This  was  done  with  a  wonderful  degree  of  accuracy  and 
fidelity,  by  men  more  or  less  trained  for  the  purpose,  and 
whose  performances  at  times  were  altogether  surprising. 
They  also  had  their  scalds  or  poets,  who  were  accustomed 
both  to  repeat  the  old  songs  and  poems  and  extemporize 


whether  or  not  the  discovery  was  considered  of  any  particular  importance. 
Tliis  does  not  appear  to  have  been  the  case.  The  fact  is  nowhere  dwelt  upon 
for  the  purpose  of  exalting  the  actors.  Besides,  as  Laing  well  observes, 
the  discovery  of  land  at  the  west  had  nothing  to  do  with  his  subject,  which 
was  the  history  of  the  kings  of  Norway.  The  discovery  of  America  gave 
rise  to  a  little  traffic,  and  nothing  more.  Moreover  the  kings  of  Norway 
took  no  part,  were  not  the  patrons  of  the  navigators,  and  had  no  influence 
whatever  in  instituting  a  single  voyage.  Mr.  Bancroft's  last  objection  is 
that  Vinland,  the  place  discovered,  "  has  been  sought  in  all  directions  from 
Greenland  and  the  St.  Lawrence  to  Africa."  This  paragraph  also  con 
veys  a  false  view  of  the  subject,  since  the  location  of  Vinland  was  as 
well  known  to  the  Northmen  as  the  situation  of  Ireland,  with  which  island 
they  had  uninterrupted  communication.  It  is  to  be  earnestly  hoped  that 
in  the  next  edition,  Mr.  Bancroft  may  be  persuaded  to  revise  his  unfounded 
opinions. 

Washington  Irving  has  expressed  the  same  doubt  in  his  Life  of  Colum 
bus,  written  before  the  means  of  examining  this  question  were  placed  within 
his  reach,  and  in  the  appendix  of  his  work  he  mixes  the  idle  tales  of  St. 
Brandan's  Isle  with  the  authentic  histories  of  the  Northmen.  A  very 
limited  inquiry  would  have  led  Mm  to  a  different  estimate. 

1  The  word  rune  comes  from  ryn,  a  furrow.  Odin  has  the  credit  of  the 
invention,  yet  they  are  probably  of  Phenician  origin.  They  were  some 
times  used  for  poetical  purposes.  Halmund,  in  the  Grettir  Saga  (see  Sabing 
Baring  Gould's  Iceland],  says  to  his  daughter :  "  Thou  shalt  now  listen 
whilst  I  relate  my  deeds,  and  sing  thereof  a  song,  which  thou  shalt  after 
wards  cut  upon  a  staff."  This  mdiruk's  the  training  the  memory  must  have 
undergone  among  the  Northmen. 


AMERICA  BY  THE  NORTHMEN.  xlv 

new  ones.  Every  good  fighter  was  expected  to  prove 
himself  a  poet  when  the  emergency  required  it.  This  pro 
fession  was  strongly  encouraged.  When  Eyvind  Skialdes- 
pilder  sang  his  great  song  in  praise  of  Iceland  every 
peasant  in  the  island,  it  is  said,  contributed  three  pieces  of 
silver  to  buy  a  clasp  for  his  mantel  of  fifty  marks  weight. 
These  scalds  were  sometimes  employed  by  the  politicians, 
and  on  one  occasion  a  satire  so  nettled  Harold,  king  of 
Denmark,  that  he  sent  a  fleet  to  ravage  the  island,  and 
made  the  repetition  an  offense  punishable  with  death. 
These  poets  also  went  to  England,  to  the  Orkneys  and  to 
Norway,  where  at  the  king's  court  they  were  held  in  the 
highest  estimation,  furnishing  poetical  effusions  on  every 
public  or  private  occasion  which  demanded  the  exercise  of 
their  gifts.  The  degree  to  which  they  had  cultivated  their 
memories  was  surprising.  Old  Blind  Skald  Stuf  could 
repeat  between  two  and  three  hundred  poems  without 
halting;  while  the  Saga-men  had  the  same  power  of 
memory,  which  we  know  may  be  improved  to  almost  any 
extent  by  cultivation.  But  with  the  advent  of  Christianity 
came  the  Roman  alphabet,  which  proved  an  easy  method 
of  expressing  thought.  Christianity,  however,  did  not 
stop  here.  Its  service  was  a  reasonable  service,  and 
demanded  of  its  votaries  a  high  intelligence.  The  priest 
of  Odin  need  do  no  more  than  to  recite  a  short  vow,  or 
mutter  a  brief  prayer.  He  had  no  divine  records  to  read 
and  to  explain.  But  the  minister  of  the  new  religion  came 
with  a  system  that  demanded  broader  learning  and  cul 
ture  than  that  implied  in  extemporaneous  songs.  His 
calling  required  the  aid  of  books,  and  the  very  sight  of 
such  things  proved  a  mental  stimulus  to  this  hard-brained 
race.  Besides,  Christianity  opened  to  the  minds  of  the 
people  new  fields  of  thought.  These  rude  sons  of  war  soon 
began  to  understand  there  were  certain  victories,  not  to 
be  despised,  that  might  be  gained  through  peace,  and  soon 


xlvi  PRE-COLUMBIAN  DISCOVERY  OF 

letters  came  to  be  some  what  familiar  to  the  public  mind. 
The  earliest  written  efforts  very  naturally  related  to  the 
lives  of  the  Saints,  which  on  Sundays  and  holy  days  were 
read  in  public  for  the  edification  of  the  people.  During 
the  eleventh  century  these  exercises  shared  the  public 
attention  with  those  of  the  professional  Saga-man,  who 
still  labored  to  hand  down  the  oral  versions  of  the  national 
history  and  traditions.  But  in  the  beginning  of  the 
twelfth  century  the  use  of  letters  was  extended,  and,  ere 
long,  the  Saga-man  found  his  occupation  gone,  the  national 
history  now  being  diligently  gathered  up  by  zealous 
students  and  scribes  and  committed  to  the  more  lasting 
custody  of  the  written  page.  Among  these  was  Ari  Frode, 
who  began  the  compilation  of  the  Icelandic  Dooms-day 
Book,  which  contained  the  records  of  all  the  early  settlers. 
Scarcely  less  useful  was  Ssernund  the  Wise,  who  collected 
the  poetical  literature  of  the  North  and  arranged  it  in  a 
goodly  tome.  The  example  of  these  great  men  was 
followed,  and  by  the  end  of  the  twelfth  century  all  the 
Sagas  relating  to  the  pagan  period  of  the  country  had  been 
reduced  to  writing.  This  was  an  era  of  great  literary 
activity,  and  the  century  following  showed  the  same  zeal. 
Finally  Iceland  possessed  a  body  of  prose  literature  supe 
rior  in  quantity  and  value  to  that  of  any  other  modern 
nation  of  its  time.1  Indeed,  the  natives  of  Europe  at  this 
period  had  no  prose  or  other  species  of  literature  hardly 
worthy  of  the  name ;  and,  taken  altogether,  the  Sagas 
formed  the  first  prose  literature  in  any  modern  language 
spoken  by  the  people.2  Says  Sir  Edmund  Head,  ".No 
doubt  there  were  translations  in  Anglo-Saxon  from  the 
Latin,  by  Alfred,  of  an  earlier  date,  but  there  was  in  truth 


'For  a  list  of  many  Icelandic  works,  see  the   Introduction  of  Lamg-'s 
Heimnkringla. 
2  See  Sir  Edmund  Head's  Viya  Glum  Saga,  pp.  viii  and  ix. 


AMERICA  BY  THE  NORTHMEN.  xlvii 

no  vernacular  literature.  I  cannot  name,"  he  says,  "  any 
work  in  high  or  low  German  prose  which  can  be  carried 
back  to  this  period.  In  France,  prose  writing  cannot  be 
said  to  have  begun  before  the  time  of  Yillehardouin  (1204), 
and  Joinville  (1202).  Castilian  prose  certainly  did  not 
commence  before  the  time  of  Alfonso  X  (1252).  Don 
Juan  Manvel,  the  author  of  the  Conde  Lucanor,  was  not 
born  till  1282.  The  Cronica  General  de  Espana  was  not 
composed  till  at  least  the  middle  of  the  thirteenth  ceutury. 
About  the  same  time  the  language  of  Italy  was  acquiring 
that  softness  and  strength  which  were  destined  to  appear 
so  conspicuously  in  the  prose  of  Boccaccio,  and  the  writers 
of  the  next  century."  l 

Yet  while  other  nations  were  without  a  literature  the 
intellect  of  Iceland  was  in  active  exercise,  and  works  were 
produced  like  the  Eddas  and  the  Heimskringla,  works 
which  being  inspired  by  a  lofty  genius  will  rank  with  the 
writings  of  Homer  and  Herodotus  while  time  itself  endures. 

But  in  the  beginning  of  the  sixteenth  century  the  litera 
ture  of  Iceland  ultimately  reached  the  period  of  its  greatest 
excellence  and  began  to  decline.  Books  in  considerable 
numbers  always  continued  to  be  written,  though  works  of 
positive  genius  were  wanting.  Yet  in  Iceland  there  has 
never  been  an  absence  of  literary  industry,  while  during 
the  recent  period  the  national  reputation  has  been  sus 
tained  by  Finn  Magnussen  and  similar  great  names.  One 
hundred  years  before  the  Plymouth  colonists,  following  in 
the  track  of  Thorwald  Ericson,  landed  on  the  sands  of  Cape 
Cod,  the  people  of  Iceland  had  set  up  the  printing  press, 
and  produced  numerous  works  both  in  the  native  language 
and  the  Latin  tongue. 


1  Ibid.  Of  course  there  was  more  or  less  poetry,  yet  poetry  is  something 
that  is  early  developed  among  the  rudest  nations,  while  good  prose  tells 
that  a  people  have  become  highly  advanced  in  mental  culture. 


xlviii  PRE-COLUMBIAN  DISCOVERY  OF 

It  is  to  this  people,  whom  Saxo  Grammaticus  points  out 
as  a  people  distinguished  for  their  devotion  to  letters,  that 
we  are  indebted  for  the  narratives  of  the  pre-Columbian 
voyages  to  America.  Though  first  arranged  for  oral  reci 
tation,  these  Sagas  were  afterwards  committed  to  manu 
script,  the  earliest  of  which  do  not  now  exist,  and  were 
finally  preserved  in  the  celebrated  Flato  collection  nearly 
a  century  before  the  rediscovery  of  America  by  Columbus. 

But  it  is  no  longer  necessary  to  spend  much  time  on 
this  point,  since  the  character  and  value  of  the  Icelandic 
writings  have  come  to  be  so  generally  acknowledged,  and 
especially  since  scholars  and  antiquarians  like  Humbolt 
have  fully  acknowledged  their  authenticity  and  authority. 

It  is  proper  to  notice  here  the  fact  that  not  a  few  have 
imagined  that  the  claims  of  the  Northmen  have  been 
brought  forward  to  detract  from  the  fame  of  Columbus ; * 
yet,  nothing  could  be  farther  from  the  truth,  since  no  one. 
denies  that  it  was  by  the  discovery  of  America  by  Colum 
bus  that  the  continent  first  became  of  value  to  the  Old 
World.  The  Northmen  came  and  went  away  without 
accomplishing  any  thing  of  lasting  value ;  yet,  because  the 
world  at  large  derived  no  benefit  from  their  discovery,  it  is 
certainly  unjust  to  deny  its  reality. 


JAs  early  as  1411,  there  was  a  considerable  trade  between  Bristol  and 
Iceland,  and  Columbus  visited  Iceland  in  the  spring  of  the  year  1477,  where 
he  might  have  met  Magnus  Eyolfson,  the  bishop  of  Skalholt,  or  learned 
from  some  other  scholar  the  facts  in  relation  to  the  early  Icelandic  dis 
coveries.  Though  Rafn  supposes  that  by  his  visit,  his  opinions,  previously 
formed  regarding  the  existence  of  the  Western  continent,  were  confirmed, 
this  is  not  altogether  clear,  for  the  reason  that  Columbus  was  not  seeking 
a  new  continent,  but  a  route  to  the  Indies,  which  he  believed  he  should 
find  by  sailing  west.  Accordingly  when  he  found  land  he  called  it  the 
West  Indies,  supposing  that  he  had  reached  the  extreme  boundary  of  the 
East  Indies.  Irving  tells  us  that  Columbus  founded  his  theory  on  (1),  the 
nature  of  things  ;  (2),  the  authority  of  learned  writers  ;  (3),  the  reports  of 
navigators. 


AMERICA  BY  THE  NORTHMEN.  xlix 

The  fact  that  the  Northmen  knew  of  the  existence  of 
the  Western  Continent,  prior  to  the  age  of  Columbus,  was 
prominently  brought  before  the  people  of  this  country  in 
the  year  1837,  when  the  Eoyal  Society  of  Northern  Anti 
quarians  at  Copenhagen  published  their  work  on  the 
Antiquities  of  North  America,  under  the  editorial  supervi 
sion  of  that  great  Icelandic  scholar,  Professor  Rafn.  But 
we  are  not  to  suppose  that  the  first  general  account  of 
these  voyages  was  then  given,  for  it  has  always  been 
known  that  the  history  of  certain  early  voyages  to  America 
by  the  Northmen  were  preserved  in  the  libraries  of  Den 
mark  and  Iceland.1  Torfseus,  as  early  as  1706,  published 
his  work  on  Greenland,  which  threw  much  light  on  the 
subject.  We  find  accounts  of  these  discoveries  in  the 
works  of  Egede  and  Crantz.  A  very  intelligent  sketch, 
at  least  for  those  times,  was  given  by  J.  Reinhold  Fors- 
ter,  who  frankly  concedes  the  pre-Columbian  discovery 
of  America,  in  a  History  of  the  Voyages  and  Discoveries 
made  in  the  North.  Robertson  speaks  of  them  in  his 
History  of  America,  but  says  that  he  is  unable  to  give  an 


1  Adam  of  Bremen  even  heard  of  the  exploits  of  the  Northmen  in  Vin- 
land,  and  made  mention  of  that  country.  But  as  it  might  be  said  that  his 
work  did  not  appear  until  after  the  voyage  of  Columbus,  and  that  the 
reference  may  be  an  interpolation,  the  author  does  not  rest  anything  upon 
it.  Still  he  unquestionably  knew  of  the  voyages  of  the  Northmen,  as  he 
lived  near  the  time  they  were  made,  and  wrote  his  ecclesiastical  history  in 
about  the  year  1075,  after  he  had  made  a  visit  to  King  Sweno  of  Denmark, 
and  had  accumulated  much  material.  The  passage  in  question  is  as 
follows :  "  Besides,  it  was  stated  [by  the  king]  that  a  region  had  been  dis 
covered  by  many  in  that  [the  western]  ocean,  which  was  called  Winland, 
because  vines  grow  there  spontaneously,  making  excellent  wine  ;  for  that 
fruits,  not  planted,  grow  there  of  their  own  accord,  we  know  not  by  false 
rumor,  but  by  the  certain  testimony  of  the  Danes." 

The  very  ancient  Faroese  ballad  of  Finn  the  Handsome  (see  Rafn's  Anti- 
quitates  Americana,  p.  319),  also  contains  references  to  Vinland,  which 
indicates  that  the  country  was  known  as  well  by  the  Irish  as  by  the 
Icelanders. 


1  PRE-COLUMBIAN  DISCOVERY  OF 

intelligent  opinion.  Indeed,  the  most  of  the  older  and 
more  comprehensive  writers  give  the  Northmen  recogni 
tion.  Yet,  owing  to  the  fact  that  the  Icelandic  language, 
though  simple  in  construction  and  easy  of  acquisition,  was 
a  tongue  not  understood  by  scholars,  the  subject  has 
until  recent  years  been  suffered  to  lie  in  the  back  ground, 
and  permitted,  through  a  want  of  interest,  to  share,  in  a 
measure,  the  treatment  meted  out  to  vague  and  uncertain 
reports.  But  the  well-directed  efforts  of  the  Northern 
Antiquarians  of  Denmark,  supported  by  the  enlightened 
zeal  of  scholars  and  historians  in  England,  France  and 
Germany,  have  done  much  to  dispel  popular  ignorance, 
and  to  place  the  whole  question  in  its  true  bearing  before 
the  people  of  all  the  principal  civilized  nations.  In  our 
own  country,  the  work  of  Professor  Rafn,  already  alluded 
to,  has  created  a  deep  and  wide-spread  conviction  of  the 
reality  of  the  Northman's  claim,  and  has  elicited  confes- . 
sions  like  that  of  Palfrey,  who  is  obliged  to  say  of  the 
Icelandic  records  that,  "  their  antiquity  and  genuineness 
appear  to  be  well  established,  nor  is  there  anything  to 
bring  their  credibility  into  question,  beyond  the  general 
doubt  which  always  attaches  to  what  is  new  or  strange." l 

THE  NARRATIVES. 

It  now  remains  to  give  the  reader  some  general  account 
of  the  contents  of  the  narratives  which  relate  more  or  less 
to  the  discovery  of  the  Western  continent.  In  doing  this, 
the  order  followed  will  be  that  which  is  indicated  by  the 
table  of  contents  at  the  beginning  of  the  volume. 

The  first  extracts  given  are  very  brief.  They  are  taken 
from  the  Landanama  Book,  and  relate  to  the  report  in 
general  circulation,  which  indicated  one  Gunnbiorn  as  the 


1  History  of  New  England,  vol.  n,  p.  53. 


AMERICA  BY  THE  NORTHMEN.  H 

discoverer  of  Greenland,  an  event  which  has  been  fixed 
at  the  year  876.  These  fragments  also  give  an  account  of 
a  voyage  to  what  was  called  Gunnbiorn's  Rocks,  where 
the  adventurers  passed  the  winter,  and  found  in  a  hole,  or 
excavation,  a  sum  of  money,  which  indicated  that  others 
had  been  there  before  them. 

The  next  narrative  relates  to  the  rediscovery  of  Green 
land  by  the  outlaw,  Eric  the  Red,  in  983,  who  there  passed 
three  years  in  exile,  and  afterwards  returned  to  Iceland. 
About  the  year  986,  he  brought  out  to  Greenland  a 
considerable  colony  of  settlers,  who  fixed  their  abode  at 
Brattahlid,  in  Ericsfiord. 

Then  follows  two  versions  of  the  voyage  of  Biarne 
Heriulfson,  who,  in  the  same  year,  986,  when  sailing  for 
Greenland,  was  driven  away  during  a  storm,  and  saw  a 
new  land  at  the  southward,  which  he  did  not  visit. 

Next  is  given  three  accounts  of  the  voyage  of  Leif,  son 
of  Eric  the  Red,  who  in  the  year  1000  sailed  from  Brattah 
lid  to  find  the  land  which  Biarne  saw.  Two  of  these 
accounts  are  hardly  more  than  notices  of  the  voyage,  but 
the  third  is  of  considerable  length,  and  details  the  successes 
of  Leif,  who  found  and  explored  this  new  land,  where 
he  spent  the  winter,  returning  to  Greenland  the  following 
spring. 

After  this  follows  the  voyage  of  Thorvald  Ericson, 
brother  of  Leif,  who  sailed  to  Vinland  from  Greenland, 
which  was  the  point  of  departure  in  all  these  voyages. 
This  expedition  was  begun  in  1002,  and  it  cost  him  his 
life,  as  an  arrow  from  one  of  the  natives  pierced  his  side, 
causing  death. 

Thorstein,  his  brother,  went  to  seek  Yinland,  with  the 
intention  of  bringing  home  his  body,  but  failed  in  the 
attempt,  and  was  driven  back,  passing  the  winter  in  a 
part  of  Greenland  remote  from  Brattahlid,  where  he  died 
before  the  spring  fully  opened. 


Hi  PRE-COLUMBIAN  DISCOVERY  OF 

The  most  distinguished  explorer  was  Thorium  Karlsefrie, 
the  Hopeful,  an  Icelander  whose  genealogy  runs  hack 
in  the  old  Northern  annals,  through  Danish,  Swedish,  and 
even  Scotch  and  Irish  ancestors,  some  of  whom  were  of 
royal  Wood.  In  the  year  1006  he  went  to  Greenland,  where 
he  met  Gudrid,  widow  of  Thorstein,  whom  he  married. 
Accompanied  by  his  wife,  who  urged  him  to  the  under 
taking,  he  sailed  to  Yinland  in  the  spring  of  1007,  with 
three  vessels  and  one  hundred  and  sixty  men,  where  he 
remained  three  years.  Here  his  son  Snorre  was  horn.  He 
afterwards  became  the  founder  of  a  great  family  in  Iceland, 
which  gave  the  island  several  of  its  first  bishops.  Thorfinn 
finally  left  Yinland  because  he  found  it  difficult  to  sustain 
himself  against  the  attacks  of  the  natives.  They  spent 
the  most  of  their  time  in  the  vicinity  of  Mount  Hope  Bay 
in  Rhode  Island.  Of  this  expedition  we  have  three  narra 
tives,  all  of  which  are  given. 

The  next  to  undertake  a  voyage  was  a  wicked  woman 
named  Freydis,  a  sister  to  Leif  Ericson,  who  went  to  Yin- 
land  in  1011,  where  she  lived  for  a  time  with  her  two 
ships'  crews  in  the  same  places  occupied  by  Leif  and 
Thorfinn.  Before  she  returned,  she  caused  the  crew  of 
one  ship  to  be  cruelly  murdered,  assisting  in  the  butchery 
with  her  own  hands. 

After  this  we  have  what  are  called  the  Minor  Narratives, 
which  are  not  essential,  yet  they  are  given  that  the  reader 
may  be  in  the  possession  of  all  that  relates  to  the  subject. 
The  first  of  these  refers  to  a  voyage  of  Are  Marson  to  a 
land  southwest  of  Ireland,  called  Hvitrammana-land,  or 
Great  Ireland.  This  was  prior  to  Leif 's  voyage  to  Yin- 
land,  or  New  England,  taking  place  in  the  year  983. 
Biorn  Asbrandson  is  supposed  to  have  gone  to  the  same 
place  in  999.  The  voyage  of  Gudleif,  who  went  thither,  is 
assigned  to  the  year  1027.  The  narrative  of  Asbrandson 
is  given  for  the  sake  of  the  allusion  at  the  close. 


AMERICA  BY  THE  NORTHMEN.  Hii 

Finally  we  have  a  few  scraps  of  history  which  speak  of 
a  voyage  of  Bishop  Eric  to  Yinland  in  1121,  of  the  redis 
covery  of  Helluland  (Newfoundland)  in  1285,  and  of  a 
voyage  to  Markland  (Nova  Scotia)  in  1347,  whither  the 
Northmen  came  to  cut  timber.  With  such  brief  notices 
the  accounts  come  to  an  end. 


THE  TRUTHFULNESS  OF  THE  NARRATIVES. 

The  reader  will  occasionally  find  in  these  narratives 
instances  of  a  marvelous  and  supernatural  character,  but 
there  is  nothing  at  all  mythological,  as  persons  ignorant  of 
their  nature  have  supposed.  Besides  there  are  multitudes 
of  narratives  of  a  later  date,  to  be  found  in  all  languages, 
which  contain  as  many  statements  of  a  marvelous  nature 
as  these  Sagas,  which  are  nevertheless  believed  to  contain  a 
substantial  and  reliable  ground-work  of  truth.  All  early 
histories  abound  in  the  supernatural,  and  these  things  are 
so  well  known  that  illustrations  are  hardly  needed  here. 
The  relation  of  prodigies  in  no  wise  destroys  the  credibility 
of  historical  statement.  If  this  were  not  so,  we  should  be 
obliged  to  discard  the  greater  portion  of  well  known 
history,  and  even  suspect  plain  matters  of  fact  in  the 
writings  of  such  men  as  Dr.  Johnson,  because  that  great 
scholar  fully  believed  in  the  reality  of  an  apparition  known 
in  London  as  the  Cock-Lane  Grhost.  The  Sagas  are  as 
free  from  superstition  and  imagination  as  any  other  reli 
able  narratives  of  that  age,  and  just  as  much  entitled  to 
belief. 

There  will  also,  in  certain  cases,  be  found  contradic 
tions.  The  statements  of  the  different  narratives  do  not 
always  coincide.  The  disagreements  are,  however,  neither 
very  numerous  nor  remarkable.  The  discrepancies  are 
exactly  what  we  should  expect  to  find  in  a  series  of  narra 
tives,  written  at  different  times  and  by  different  hands. 


liv  PRE-COLUMBIAN  DISCOVERY  OF 

The  men  who  recorded  the  various  expeditions  to  New 
England  in  the  eleventh  century  agree,  on  the  whole, 
quite  as  well  as  the  writers  of  our  own  day,  who,  with 
vastly  greater  advantages,  undertake  to  narrate  the  events 
of  the  second  colonization  in  the  seventeenth  century.1 

Therefore  these  marvelous  statements  and  occasional 
contradictions  in  nowise  detract  from  the  historic  value  of 
the  documents  themselves,  which,  even  in  their  very 
truthfulness  to  the  times,  give  every  evidence  of  authen 
ticity  and  great  worth.  To  this  general  appearance  of 
truthfulness  we  may,  however,  add  the  force  of  those 
undesigned  coincidences  between  writers  widely  sepa 
rated  and  destitute  of  all  means  of  knowing  what  had  been 
already  said.  The  same  argument  may  be  used  with 
the  Sagas  which  has  been  so  powerfully  employed  by 
Paley  and  others  in  vindicating  the  historical  character  of 
the  New  Testament.  In  these  narratives,  as  in  those  of 
Paul  and  John,  it  may  be  used  with  overwhelming  effect. 
Yet  we  do  not  fear  to  dispense  with  all  auxiliary  aids. 
We  are  willing  to  rest  the  whole  question  of  the  value  of  these 
narratives  upon  their  age;  for  if  the  Sagas  date  back  to  a 
period  long  prior  to  the  voyage  of  Columbus,  then  the 
Northmen  are  entitled  to  the  credit  of  having  been  the 
first  Europeans  to  land  upon  these  shores.  But  the  date 


1  The  liability  of  the  best  historians  to  fall  into  error,  is  illustrated  by 
Paley,  who  shows  the  serious  blunders  in  the  accounts  of  the  Marquis  of 
Argyle's  death,  in  the  reign  of  Charles  II :  "  Lord  Clarendon  relates  that 
he  was  condemned  to  be  hanged,  which  was  performed  the  same  day  ;  on 
the  contrary,  Burnet,  Woodrow,  Heath,  Echard  concur  in  stating  that  he 
was  beheaded,  and  that  he  was  condemned  upon  Saturday  and  executed  on 
Monday." — Evidences  of  Christianity,  part  in,  chap.  i.  So  Mr.  Bancroft 
found  it  impossible  to  give  with  any  accuracy  the  location  of  the  French 
colony  of  St.  Savion,  established  on  the  coast  of  Maine,  by  Saussaye,  in 
1613.  Bancroft  tells  us  that  it  was  on  the  north  bank  of  the  Penobscot, 
while  it  is  perfectly  well  known  that  it  was  located  on  the  island  of  Mount 
Desert,  a  long  way  off  in  the  Atlantic  Ocean. 


AMERICA  BY  THE  NORTHMEN.  lv 

of  these  narratives  has  now  been  settled  beyond  reasonable 
question.  The  doubts  of  the  ablest  critical  minds,  both  in 
Europe  and  America,  have  been  effectually  laid  to  rest, 
and  the  only  reply  now  given  to  the  Northern  Antiqua 
rian  is  some  feeble  paragraph  pointed  with  a  sneer. 

We  need  not,  therefore,  appear  before  the  public  to  cry, 
Place  for  the  Northmen.  They  can  win  their  own  place,  as 
of  old.  They  are  as  strong  to-day  in  ideas,  as  anciently 
in  arms. 


THE  ABSENCE  OF  MONUMENTS  AND  REMAINS. 

That  the  Northmen  left  no  monuments  or  architectural 
remains  in  New  England  is  true,  notwithstanding  Pro 
fessor  Rafn  supposed  that  he  found  in  the  celebrated 
Dighton  rock1  and  the  stone  mill  at  Newport,  indubitable 


1  Dighton  Rock  known  as  the  Writing  Rock,  is  situated  six  and  a  half 
miles  south  of  Taunton,  Mass.,  on  the  east  side  of  Taunton  river,  formed  by 
Assonnet  Neck.  It  lies  in  the  edge  of  the  river,  and  is  left  dry  at  low  water. 
It  is  a  boulder  of  fire  graywack,  twelve  feet  long  and  five  feet  high,  and 
faces  the  bed  of  the  river.  Its  front  is  now  covered  with  chiseled  inscrip 
tions  of  what  appear  to  be  letters  and  outlines  of  men,  animals  and  birds. 
As  early  as  the  year  1680,  Dr.  Danforth  secured  a  drawing  of  the  upper 
portion  ;  Cotton  Mather  made  a  full  copy  in  1712  ;  and  in  1788,  Professor 
Winthrop,  of  Harvard  College,  took  a  full-sized  impression  on  prepared 
paper.  Various  other  copies  have  been  made  at  different  times,  all  of 
which  present  substantially  the  same  features.  Yet  in  the  interpretation 
of  the  inscription  there  has  been  little  agreement.  The  old  rock  is  a 
riddle,  dumb  as  the  Sphinx.  A  copy  of  the  inscription  was  shown  to  a 
Mohawk  chief,  who  decided  that  it  was  nothing  less  than  the  representa 
tion  of  a  triumph  by  Indians  over  a  wild  beast  which  took  place  on  this 
spot.  Mr.  Schoolcraft  also  showed  a  copy  to  Chingwank,  an  Algonquin 
well  versed  in  picture-writing,  who  gave  a  similar  interpretation.  The 
Roman  characters  in  the  central  part  of  the  composition  he  was  finally 
induced  to  reject,  as  having  no  connection  with  the  rest.  And  whoever 
compares  this  inscription  with  those  of  undeniably  Indian  origin  found 
elsewhere,  cannot  fail  to  be  impressed  with  the  similarity.  Nevertheless, 
members  of  the  Royal  Society  of  Antiquarians,  to  whose  notice  it  was 


lvi  PRE-COLUMBIAN  DISCOVERY  OF 

evidences  of  the  Icelandic  occupation.  Any  serious  efforts 
to  identify  the  Dightoii  inscription  and  the  Newport  Mill 
with  the  age  of  the  Northmen  can  only  serve  to  injure  a 
good  cause.  If  Professor  Eafn  could  have  seen  these 
memorials  himself,  he  would  doubtless  have  been  among 
the  first  to  question  the  truth  of  the  theory  which  he  set 
forth. 

In  regard  to  the  structure  at  Newport,  Professor  Kafn 
says  that  he  is  inclined  to  believe  "  that  it  had  a  sacred 
destination,  and  that  it  belonged  to  some  monastery  or 
Christian  place  of  worship  of  one  of  the  chief  parishes  in 
Yinland.  In  Greenland,"  he  says,  u  there  are  to  be  found 
ruins  of  several  round  buildings  in  the  vicinity  of  the 
churches.  One  of  this  description,  in  diameter  about 
twenty-six  feet,  is  situated  at  the  distance  of  three  hundred 
feet  to  the  eastward  of  the  great  church  in  Igalliko; 


brought  by  the  Rhode  Island  Historical  Society,  felt  strongly  persuaded 
that  the  rock  bears  evidence  of  the  Northman's  visit  to  these  shores.  Mr. 
Laing,  the  accomplished  translator  of  the  Heimskringla,  in  discussing  the 
theories  in  regard  to  the  inscription,  says,  that  the  only  real  resemblance  to 
letters  is  found  in  the  middle  of  the  stone,  in  which  antiquarians  discover 
the  name  of  Thorfinn,  that  is,  Thorfmn  Karlsefne,  the  leader  of  the  expedi 
tion  which  came  to  New  England  in  1007.  Just  over  these  letters  is  a 
character  supposed  to  be  Roman  also,  which  may  signify  NA,  or  MA, 
the  letter  A  being  formed  by  the  last  branch  of  M.  Now  MA  in  Icelandic 
is  used  as  an  abbreviation  of  Madr,  which  signifies  the  original  settler  of  a 
country.  Close  to  these  two  letters  are  several  numerals,  construed  to 
mean  one  hundred  and  fifty-one.  And  according  to  the  account  of  the 
voyage,  Thorfinn  lost  nine  of  the  hundred  and  sixty  men  with  whom  it  is 
presumed  he  started,  and  therefore  one  hundred  and  fifty-one  would  exactly 
express  the  number  with  him  at  the  time  he  is  supposed  to  have  cut  the 
inscription.  This,  then,  would  mean  altogether,  that  Thorfinn  Karlsefne 
established  himself  here  with  one  hundred  and  fifty-one  men.  Yet,  as  the 
testimony  of  this  rock  is  not  needed,  we  may  readily  forego  any  advantage 
that  can  be  derived  from  its  study.  Besides,  the  history  of  similar  cases 
should  serve  to  temper  our  zeal.  In  the  time  of  Saxo  Grammatticus  (1160), 
there  was  a  stone  at  Hoby,  near  Runamoe,  in  the  Swedish  province  of 
Bleking,  which  was  supposed  to  be  sculptured  with  runes.  At  a  late  day 


AMERICA  BY  THE  NORTHMEN.  ]vii 

another  of  forty-four  feet  in  diameter,  at  the  distance  of 
four  hundred  and  forty  feet  to  the  eastward  of  the  church 
in  Karkortok ;  ....  a  third,  of  thirty-two  feet  diameter 
amongst  the  rains  of  sixteen  buildings  at  Kanitsok."1 
He  supposes  that  all  these  ancient  remains  of  the  Ice 
landers,  which  are  to  be  seen  in  Greenland  to-day,  are 
baptisteries,  similar  to  those  of  Italy. 

According  to  this  view,  there  must  have  been  a  con 
siderable  ecclesiastical  establishment  in  Yinland,  which  is 
not*  clearly  indicated  by  the  Sagas,  from  which  we  learn 
no  more  than  the  simple  fact  that  Bishop  Eric  sailed  on  a 
voyage  to  this  place  in  the  year  1121.  But  is  it  probable 
that  the  Northmen  would  have  erected  a  baptistery  like 


copies  were  furnished  the  antiquarians,  who  came  to  the  conclusion,  as 
Laing  tells  us,  that  it  was  a  genuine  inscription,  referring  to  the  battle  of 
Braaville,  fought  in  the  year  680.  It  afterwards  turned  out  that  the  appa 
rent  inscription  was  made  by  the  disintegration  of  veins  of  a  soft  material 
existing  in  the  rock.  Yet  the  Dighton  inscription  is  beyond  question  the 
work  of  man.  Mr.  A.  E.  Kendal,  writing  in  1807,  says  that  there  was  a 
tradition  that  Assonnet  Neck,  on  which  tongue  of  land  the  rock  is  situated, 
was  once  a  place  of  banishment  among  the  Indians.  He  states,  further, 
that  the  Indians  had  a  tradition  to  the  effect,  that  in  ancient  times  some 
white  men  in  a  bird  landed  there  and  were  slaughtered  by  the  aborigines. 
They  also  said  thunder  and  lightening  issued  from  the  bird,  which  fact 
indicates  that  this  event,  if  it  occurred  at  all,  must  be  referred  to  the  a,ge 
of  gunpowder.  Mr.  Kendal  mentions  the  story  of  a  ship's  anchor  having 
been  found  there  at  an  early  day.  In  former  years  the  rock  was  frequently 
dug  under  by  the  people,  in  the  hope  of  finding  concealed  treasures.  It 
is  said  that  a  small  rock  once  existed  near  by  which  also  bore  marks  of 
human  hands.  The  Portsmouth  and  Tiverton  Rocks,  described  by  Mr.  Webb 
(Antiquitates  Americana,  pp.  355-71),  are  doubtless  Indian  inscriptions ; 
while  that  on  the  island  of  Monhegan,  off  the  coast  of  Maine,  may  perhaps 
be  classed  with  the  rock  of  Hoby.  Yet  after  all,  it  is  possible  that  the  cen 
tral  portion  of  the  inscription  on  the  Dighton  Rock,  may  be  the  work  of  the 
Northmen.  That  two  distinct  parties  were  concerned  in  making  the 
inscription  is  clear  from  the  testimony  of  the  Indians,  who  did  not  pretend  to 
understand  the  portion  thought  to  refer  to  Karlsefne.  For  the  full  discus 
sion,  see  Antiquitates  Americana,  p.  378,  et  seq. 
1  Memoirs  des  Antiquaires  du  Nord,  1839-9,  p.  377. 

H 


Iviii  PRE-COLUMBIAN  DISCOVERY  OF 

this,  and,  at  the  same  time,  left  no  other  monument? 
It  seems  hardly  reasonable.  Besides,  whoever  examines 
this  ancient  structure  must  be  impressed  by  its  modern 
aspect,  so  especially  apparent  in  the  preservation  of  the 
mortar,  which  does  not  bear  the  marks  of  seven  centuries. 
The  displacement  of  a  portion  of  the  masonry  might  per 
haps  reveal  some  peculiarity  that  would  effectually  settle 
the  question  of  its  antiquity  to  the  satisfaction  of  all.1 

In  treating  this  subject  we  shall  run  into  needless  errors 
and  difficulties,  if  we  attempt  the  task  of  discovering 
monuments  of  the  Northmen  in  New  England.  In  Green 
land  these  evidences  of  their  occupation  are  abundant, 
because  they  were  regularly  established  on  the  ground  for 
generations,  and  formed  their  public  and  private  edifices 
of  the  only  material  at  hand,  which  was  well  nigh  im 
perishable.  But  their  visits  to  New  England  were  com 
paratively  few,  and  were  scattered  over  many  years. 
Owing  to  the  weakness  of  their  numbers,  they  found 


1  The  Old  Mill  at  Newport  stands  on  an  eminence  in  the  centre  of  the 
town,  being  about  twenty-four  feet  high,  and  twenty-three  feet  in  diameter. 
It  rests  upon  eight  piers  and  arches.  It  has  four  small  windows,  and,  high 
up  the  wall,  above  the  arches,  was  a  small  fire  place.  It  is  first  distinctly 
mentioned  in  the  will  of  Governor  Benedict  Arnold,  of  Newport,  where  it 
is  called,  "my  stone-built  wind  mill."  It  is  known  that  during  the 
eighteenth  century  it  served  both  as  a  mill  and  powder  house.  Edward  Pel- 
ham,  who  married  Governor  Arnold's  granddaughter,  in  1740  also  called  it 
"  an  old  stone  mill."  Peter  Easton,  who  early  went  to  live  in  Newport,  wrote 
in  1663,  that  "  this  year  we  built  the  first  windmill ; "  and  August  28,  1675, 
he  says,  "  A  storm  blew  down  our  windmill."  What  Easton  relates  occurred 
before  Governor  Arnold  writes  about  his  stone  windmill,  and  it  is  not  unrea 
sonable  to  suppose  that  when  the  one  spoken  of  by  Easton  was  destroyed  he 
built  something  more  substantial.  Yet  we  cannot  say  that  this  was  actually 
the  case.  The  old  tower  existing  at  the  beginning  of  the  settlement  may 
have  been  adapted  by  him  for  the  purposes  of  a  mill,  when  the  one  men 
tioned  by  Easton  was  destroyed. 

The  family  of  the  Governor  is  said  to  have  come  from  Warwickshire,  Eng 
land,  and  one  of  his  farms  was  called  the  Leamington  farm,  as  is  supposed, 


AMERICA  BY  THE  NORTHMEN.  1JX 

permanent  colonies  impracticable.  Thorfinn  Karlsefne 
deliberately  gave  up  the  attempt  at  the  end  of  a  three 
years  experiment,  saying  that  it  would  be  impossible  to 
maintain  themselves  against  the  more  numerous  bands  of 
natives.  Their  habitations  were  temporary.  The  various 
companies  that  came  into  Vinland,  instead  of  building 
new  houses,  took  possession  of  Leif 's  booths,  and  simply 
added  others  like  them  when  they  aiforded  insufficient 
quarters.  To  ask  for  monuments  of  the  Northmen  is 
therefore  unreasonable,  since  their  wooden  huts  and  timber 
crosses  must  soon  have  disappeared.  The  only  memorial 
we  have  a  right  to  expect  is  some  trifling  relic,  a  coin  or 
amulet,  perhaps,  that  chance  may  yet  throw  in  the  anti 
quarian's  way.1  In  the  meanwhile  among  scholars  the 


from  the  place  by  that  name  near  Warwick.  In  addition  to  this,  in  the 
Chesterton  Parish,  three  miles  from  Leamington,  there  is  an  old  windmill 
similar  in  construction  to  that  at  Newport.  It  is  supposed  that  it  was 
erected  on  pillars  for  pneumatic  reasons,  and  also  that  carts  nlight  thus 
go  underneath  and  be  loaded  and  unloaded  with  greater  ease.  And 
it  has  been  suggested,  that  if  Gov.  Arnold  came  from  Warwickshire,  of 
which  the  proof  is  not  given,  and  if  the  Chesterton  Mill  was  standing 
at  the  time  of  his  departure  for  New  England,  he  might  have  built  a  mill 
at  Newport  after  the  same  model.  Yet  this  is  something  we  know  little 
about.  And  whence  came  the  Chesterton  Mill  itself?  There  was  a  tradi 
tion  that  it  was  built  after  a  design  by  Inigo  Jones,  but  this  is  only  a 
tradition.  That  structure  also  might  have  belonged  to  the  class  of  Round 
Towers  in  Ireland,  of  which  one  at  least  was  built  by  Northmen.  All  is 
therefore,  in  a  measure,  doubtful.  It  will  hardly  help  the  Northmen  to 
class  this  Newport  relic  with  their  works.  See  Palfrey's  New  England, 
vol.  i,  pp.  57-9. 

aMany  have  supposed  that  the  skeleton  in  armor,  dug  up  near  Fall 
River,  was  a  relic  of  the  Northmen,  and  orie  df  those  men  killed  by  the 
natives  in  the  battle  with  Karlsefne.  But  it  would  be  far  more  reason 
able  to  look  for  traces  of  the  Northmen  among  the  Indians  of  Gaspe, 
who,  at  an  early  day,  were  distinguished  for  an  unusual  degree  of  civili 
zation.  Malte  Brim  tells  us  that  they  worshiped  the  sun,  knew  the 
points  of  the  compass,  observed  the  position  of  some  of  the  stars,  and 
traced  maps  of  their  country.  Before  the  Frendh  missionaries  went  among 


]x  PRE-COLUMBIAN  DISCOVERY  IN  AMERICA. 

Icelandic  narratives  are  steadily  winning  their  way  to 
unquestioned  belief.  This  is  all  the  more  gratifying  in 
an  age  like  the  present,  in  which  large  portions  of  history 
are  being  dismissed  to  the  realms  of  hoary  fable^  and  all 
the  annals  of  the  past  are  being  studied  in  a  critical  spirit, 
with  true  aims  and  a  pure  zeal. 


them  they  worshiped  the  figure  of  the  Cross,  and  had  a  tradition  that 
a  venerable  person  once  visited  them,  and  during  an  epidemic  cured 
many  by  the  use  of  that  symbol.  See  Malte  Brun's  Geography  (English 
edition),  vol.  v,  p.  135.  Malte  Brun's  authority  is  Father  Leclerc's 
Nouvelle  Relation  de  la  Gfaspesie,  Paris,  1672. 


THE  MAJOR  NARRATIVES 


PRE-COLUMBIAN  DISCOVERY. 


I.  FRAGMENTS  FROM  LAKDKAMA-BOK 

The  following  extracts  from  the  Landnama,1  give  us  the 
earliest  information  on  record,  in  regard  to  the  westward 
movements  of  the  Icelanders.  The  men  referred  to  were 
well  known,  and  the  mention  of  their  names  and  exploits 
in  this  great  work,  than  which  no  higher  authority  could 
be  produced,  is  gratifying.  These  extracts,  which  are 
given  in  the  order  in  which  they  stand  in  vol.  i.  of  Gron- 
land's  Historiske  Mindesmcerker,  the  greater  portion  of  which 
work  is  the  labor  of  Finn  Magnusen,  have  probably  never 
appeared  before  in  an  English  dress.  The  first  extract 
simply  mentions  Gunnbiorn  and  his  Rocks;  the  second 
shows  that  Eric  the  Red  obtained  his  knowledge  of  the 
existence  of  Greenland  through  this  person ;  the  third 
again  gives  the  name  of  Gunnbiorn :  while  the  fourth 
furnishes  a  brief  account  of  an  early  voyage  to  the  Rocks. 
It  appears  from  these  references,  that,  previous  to  the  sail- 


1  The  Landnama-bok.  This  is  probably  the  most  complete  record  of  the 
kind  ever  made  by  any  nation.  It  is  of  the  same  general  character  as  the 
English  Doomsday  Book,  but  vastly  superior  in  interest  and  value.  It 
contains  the  names  of  three  thousand  persons  and  one  thousand  four  hun 
dred  places.  It  gives  a  correct  account  of  genealogies  of  the  first  settlers, 
with  brief  notices  of  their  achievements.  It  was  commenced  by  the  cele 
brated  Frode,  the  Wise,  who  was  born  1067,  and  died  1148,  and  was  continued 
by  Kalstegg,  Styrmer  and  Thordsen,  and  completed  by  Hank  Erlendson, 
Lagman,  or  Governor  of  Iceland,  who  died  in  the  year  1334. 


\ 

12  PRE-COLUMBIAN  DISCOVERY  OF 

ing  of  Eric  the  Red,  the  existence  of  land  at  the  west  was 
well  understood,  the  report  of  Gunnbiorn's  adventure  hav 
ing  been  quite  generally  circulated  amongst  the  people. 


1.  There  was  a  man  named  Grimkel,  [A.  D.  876.]  son  of 
Ulf  Hreidarson,  called  Krage,  and  brother  to  Gunnbiorn,1 
after  whom  Gunnbiorn's  Eocks 2  are  named.     He  took  pos 
session  of  that  piece  of  land  that  extends  from  Berevigs 
Eoin  to  Ness  Eoin,  and  out  round  the  point  of  the  cape. 
And  he  lived  on  Saxahval.     He  drove  away  Saxe,  a  son  of 
Alfarin  Valeson,  and  he  lived  on  the  Eoin  of  Saxahval. 
Alfarin  Valeson   had   first  taken  possession  of  the  cape 
between  Berevigs  Eoin  and  Enne. 

2.  Eric  Eed  [A.  D.  983.]  said  that  he  intended  to  find 
the  land  that  was  seen  by  Gunnbiorn,3  Ulf  Krage's  son, 
when  he  was  driven  by  a  storm  west  from  Iceland,  and 


1  Gunnbiorn  appears  to  have  been  a  Northman  who  settled  in  Iceland  at 
an  early  day.     Nothing  more  is  known  of  him. 

2  Torfseus  says  that  these  rocks  lie  six  sea  miles  out  from  Geirfuglesker, 
out  from  Reikiavek,  and  twelve  miles  south  of  Garde  in  Greenland,  yet 
they  cannot  now  be  found.     It  is  not  too  much  to  suppose  that  they  have 
been  sunk  by  some  of  those  fearful  convulsions  which  have  taken  place  in 
Iceland ;  yet  it  is  quite  as  reasonable  to  conclude  that  these   rocks  were 
located  elsewhere,   probably  nearer  the   east  coast,   which   was  formerly 
more  accessible  than  now.     In  the  version  of  the  Account  of  Greenland,  by 
Ivar  Bardason  (see  Antiquitates  Americans,  p.  301),  given  from  a  Faroese 
Manuscript,  and  curiously  preserved  by  Purchas,  His  Pilgrimage,  vol.  in,  p. 
518,  we  read  as  follows  : 

"  Item,  men  shall  know,  that,  between  Island  and  Greenland,  lyeth  a 
Risse  called  Qornbornse-Skare.  There  were  they  wont  to  haue  their  pas 
sage  for  Gronland.  But  as  they  report  there  is  Ice  upon  the  same  Risse, 
come  out  of  the  Long  North  Bottome,  so  that  we  cannot  use  the  same  old 
Passage  as  they  thinke." 

3 Torfseus  says  (G-reenlandia,  p.  73),  that  "Eric  the  Red  first  lived  in 
Greenland,  but  it  was  discovered  by  the  man  called  Gunnbiorn.  After  him 
Gunnbiorn's  Rocks  are  called." 


AMERICA  BY  THE  NORTHMEN.  13 

found  Gunnbiorn's  Rocks.  [A.  D.  876.]  At  the  same  time 
he  said  if  he  did  not  find  the  land  he  would  return  to  his 
friends. 

3.  Two  sons  of  Gunnbiorn,  Ulf  Krage's  son,  after  whom 
Gunnbiorn's  Eocks  were  named,  were  called  Gunstein 
and  Haldor.  They  took  possession  of  Skotufiorden,  Loi- 
gardelen  and  Ogursvigen  to  Mjorfiord.  Berse  was  Hal- 
dor's  son,  father  to  Thormod  Kalbrunarskald. 

Sngebiorn  (Holmstein's  son),  called  Galte,  owned  a  ship 
[A.  D.  970.]  that  lay  in  the  mouth  of  Grimsar  (in  Bor- 
gafiorden).  Rolf,  from  Rodesand,  bought  a  half  of  the 
ship.  Each  of  the  parties  mustered  twelve  men.  With 
Snsebiorn,  was  Thorkel  and  Sumarlide,  sons  of  Thorgier 
Red,  son  of  Einar,  from  Staf  holdt. 

Snsebiorn  also  took  Thorod  from  Thingness,  his  step 
father  and  his  five  sons,  and  Rolf  took  Stserbiorn.     The 
last  named   recited   the   following   verse,  after   he  had  a, 
dream : 

Both  ours 

dead  I  see  j 

all  empty 

in  Northwestern  Sea ; 

cold  weather, 

great  suffering, 

I  expect 

Snaebiorn's  death.1 

They  sought  Gunnbiorn's  Rocks  and  found  land.  Snre- 
biorn  would  not  permit  any  one  to  go  ashore  in  the  night. 
Stserbiorn  landed,  notwithstanding,  and  found  a  purse 2 


1  The  translation  is  literal  or  nearly  so,  and  the  sense  is  obscure. 

2  This  shows  that  others  had  been  there  before.     They  were  doubtless 
Icelanders  who  were  sailing   to  Greenland.      The  place  of  concealment 
appears  to  have  been  an  excavation  covered  with  stone  or  wood.     That  the 
people  were  sometimes  accustomed  to  hide  money  in  this  way,  is  evident. 


14  PRE-COLUMBIAN  DISCOVERY  OF 

with  money  in  an  earth  hole,  and  concealed  it.     Sneebiorn 
hit  him  with  an  axe  so  that  the  purse  fell  down. 

They  huilt  a  cabin  to  live  in,  and  it  was  all  covered  with 
snow.  Thorkel  Bed's  son,  found  that  there  was  water  on 
a  shelf  that  stood  out  of  the  cabin  window.  This  was  in 
the  month  of  Goe.1  They  shovelled  the  snow  away. 
Snsebiorn  rigged  the  ship ;  Thorod  and  five  of  his  party 
were  in  the  hut,  and  Stserbiorn  and  several  men  of  Rolf's 
party.  Some  hunted.2  Stserbiorn  killed  Thorod,  but  both 
he  and  Rolf  killed  Sngebiorn.  Red's  sons  and  all  the  rest 


We  read  in  the  Saga  of  Eric  the  Red,  that  this  person  at  first  intended  to 
go  with  his  son,  Leif,  on  his  voyage  to  discover  the  land  seen  by  Heriulf, 
and  which  Leif  named  Vinland.  On  his  way  to  the  ship,  Eric's  horse 
stumbled,  and  he  fell  to  the  ground  seriously  inj  ured,  and  was  obliged  to 
abandon  the  voyage.  He  accepted  this  as  a  judgment  for  having,  as  one 
preparation  for  his  absence,  buried  his  money,  where  his  wife,  Thorhild, 
would  not  be  able  to  find  it. 

1  This  is  believed  to  have  been  about  February,  which  affords  one  of  many 
indications  that  the  climate  of  that  region  has  become  more  rigorous  than 
formerly.  The  fact  that  water  did  not  freeze,  indicates  mild  weather,  which 
we  might  infer  from  the  rigging  of  their  vessels,  and  the  preparation  for 
sea.  In  regard  to  the  term  Goe,  Gronland's  Historiske  Mindesmcerker 
(vol.  j ,  p.  7),  says :  "  This  name  was  before  used  in  Denmark,  which  Etats- 
raad  Werlauf  has  discovered  on  the  inscription  of  a  Danish  Rune-Stone. " 

2  The  facts  that  they  engaged  in  hunting,  and  that  they  built  a  cabin  to 
live  in,  might  at  first  lead  some  to  suppose  that  the  place  contained  a  forest 
or  more  or  less  trees,  to  supply  wood.  Yet  this  does  not  follow,  as  drift 
wood  might  supply  all  their  wants  for  building  purposes,  where  they  could 
not  obtain  or  use  stone.  Regarding  drift  wood,  Crantz  says,  in  speaking  of 
Greenland  :  "  For  as  He  lias  denied  this  frigid,  rocky  region  the  growth  of 
trees,  He  has  bid  the  storms  of  the  ocean  to  convey  to  its  shores  a  great 
deal  of  wood,  which  accordingly  comes  floating  thither,  part  without  ice, 
but  the  most  part  along  with  it,  and  lodges  itself  between  the  islands. 
Were  it  not  for  this,  we  Europeans  should  have  no  wood  to  burn  there.  .  .  . 
Among  this  wood  are  great  trees  torn  up  by  the  roots,  which  by  driving 
up  and  down  for  many  years,  and  dashing  and  rubbing  on  the  ice,  are  quite 
bare  of  branches.  A  small  part  of  this  drift  wood  are  willows,  alder  and 
birch  trees,  which  come  out  of  the  bays  in  the  south  ;  also  large  trunks  of 
aspen  trees,  .  .  .  but  the  greatest  part  is  pine  and  fir.  We  find  also,  a  good 
deal  of  a  sort  of  wood,  finely  veined,  and  with  few  branches ;  this,  I  fancy,  is 


AMERICA  BY  THE  NORTHMEN.  15 

were  obliged  to  take  the  oath  of  allegiance  to  save  their 
lives.  They  arrived  on  their  return  at  Helgeland,  Norway, 
and  later  at  Vadil  in  Iceland.1 


II.  THE  COLONIZATION  OF  GREENLAND. 

The  first  document  relating  to  the  settlement  of  Green 
land  by  the  Northmen,  is  taken  from  the  Saga  of  Eric  the 
Red,  as  given  in  Professor  Rafn's  Antiquitates  Americanos. 
Besides  the  history  of  Eric  and  his  sous,  that  Saga  contains 
notices  of  other  voyages.  The  following  are  simply 
extracts.  The  whole  Saga  does  not  necessarily  apply  to 
the  subject  under  examination — the  Discovery  of  America. 
The  second  extract,  which  gives  more  of  the  particulars, 
is  from  Gronland's  Historiske  Mindesmcerker,  vol.  n,  p.  201. 
The  third  is  also  taken  from  the  same  great  historical 
depository. 

FIRST  NARRATIVE. 

There  was  a  man  named  Thorvald,  son  of  Osvald,  son 
of  Uli-Oexna-Thorerisson.  Thorvald  and  his  son  were 
obliged  to  leave  Jardar2  and  go  to  Iceland,  on  account  of 
manslaughter.  At  that  time  Iceland  was  generally  colo- 


larchwood There  is  also  a  solid,  reddish  wood  of  a  more  agreeable 

fragrancy  than  the  common  fir,  with  visible  cross  veins,  which  I  take  to  be 
the  same  species  as  the  beautiful  silver  firs,  or  zirbel,  that  have  the  smell 
of  cedar,  and  grow  on  the  high  Grison  hills,  and  the  Switzers  wainscot 
ther  rooms  with  them." — History  of  Greenland,  vol.  i,  p.  37. 

1  If  any  confirmation  were  needed  of  the  truth  of  this  narrative,  or  of  the 
killing  of  Snaebiorn  and  Thorod,  we  might  look  for  it  in  the  equally  well 
known  fact,  that  after  the  return  of  the  voyagers  to  Iceland,  the  death  of 
these  two  men  was  fearfully  revenged  by  their  friends. 

2  In  the  southwest  of  Norway. 


1(3  PRE-COLUMBIAN  DISCOVERY  OF 

nized.1  They  first  lived  in  Drangey,  where  Thorvald  died. 
Then  Eric  married  Thorhild,  daughter  of  Jorund  and 
Thorbiarg  Knarrabringa,  whom  afterwards  Thorbiorn  of 
Haukdale  married.  Eric  moved  from  the  north,  and  fixed 
his  abode  in  Ericstad  opposite  Yatshorn.  The  son  of  Eric 
and  Thorhold  was  named  Leif.  But  after  Eyulf  Soers  and 
Holm-Gang  Rafn's  murder^  Eric  was  banished  from  Hauk 
dale.  Eric  went  westward  to  Breidafiord  and  lived  at 
Oexney  in  Ericstad.  He  lent  Thorgest  his  seat-posts,2  and 
he  could  not  get  them  again.  He  then  demanded  them. 
Then  came  disputes  and  hostility  between  him  arid  Thor 
gest,  which  is  told  in  the  history  of  Eric.  Styr  Thorgrim's 
son,  Eyulf  of  Svinoe,  the  sons  of  Brand  of  Aptelfiord  and 
Thorbiorn  Yifilsson  plead  the  cause  of  Eric;  Thorder 
Gellurson  and  Thorgeir  of  Hitardale  plead  for  Thorgest. 
Eric  was  declared  outlawed  by  the  Thing,  and  prepared  his 
ship  for  sea  in  Eric's  Bay.  Styr  and  the  others  went  with 
him  beyond  the  island.  [A.  D.  982.]  Then  Eric  declared 
it  to  be  his  resolution  to  seek  the  land  which  Gunnbiorn, 
Ulf  Krage's  son,  saw  [A.  D.  876.]  when  driven  into  the 
Western  ocean,  wrhere  he  found  Gunnbiorn 's  Rocks,  say 
ing,  that  if  he  did  not  find  the  land  he  would  return  to  his 
friends.  Eric  set  sail  from  Snsefellsjokul,  and  found  land 
which  from  its  height  he  called  Midjokul,  now  called  Blaa- 
serk.  Thence  he  sailed  along  the  shore  in  a  southerly 
direction,  seeking  for  the  nearest  habitable  land.  The  first 
winter  he  passed  in  Ericseya,3  near  the  middle  of  the  east  dis 
trict.  The  following  year  he  came  into  Ericsfiord,  where  he 


1  See  Colonization  of  Iceland,  in  the  Introduction. 

2  See  notes  to  Introduction. 

3  It  is  now  impossible  to  indentify  these  localities.     The  old  view,  that 
what  is  called   the   East-bygd,   or  District,   was  on  the  eastern  coast  of 
Greenland,  is  now  abandoned.     It  is  probable  that  no  settlement  was  ever 
effected  on  the  east  coast,  though  once  it  was  evidently  more  approachable 
than  now.     See  Graah's  Expedition. 


AMERICA  BY  THE  NORTHMEN.  17 

fixed  his  seat.  The  same  summer  he  explored  the  western 
desert,  and  gave  names  to  many  places.  The  follow 
ing  winter  he  passed  on  a  holm  opposite  Rafnsgnipa, 
and  the  third  year  he  came  into  Iceland  and  brought 
his  ship  into  Breidafiord.  The  land  which  he  found,  he 
named  Greenland,  saying  that  men  would  be  persuaded  to 
go  to  a  land  with  so  good  a  name.  Eric  stayed  in  Iceland 
that  winter,  and  the  summer  after  he  went  over  to  the 
land  which  he  had  found,  and  fixed  his  abode  in  Brattah- 
lid  in  Ericsfiord.  [A.  D.  986.]  Men  acquainted  with  affairs, 
say,  that  this  same  summer  in  which  Eric  went  to  settle  in 
Greenland,  thirty-five  ships  sailed  from  Breidafiord  and 
Bogafjord,  of  which  only  fourteen  arrived,  and  the  rest 
were  driven  back  or  lost.  This  event  took  place  fifteen  win 
ters1  before  the  Christian  religion  was  established  in  Iceland. 
The  same  summer,  Bishop  Frederick  and  Thorvold  Kod- 
ranson  went  from  Iceland.2  Among  those  who  emigrated 
with  Eric  and  established  themselves,  were  Heriulf  Heri- 
ulfsfiord  who  took  Heriulfsness,  and  abode  in  Heriulfs- 
ness,  Ketil  Ketilsfiord,  Rafn  Rafnsfiord,  Solvi  Solvidale, 
Helgi  Thorbrandson  Alptafiord,  Thorbjornglora  Siglefjord, 
Einar  Einarsfiord,  Hafgrim  Hafgrimsfiord  and  Vatnahver, 
Arnlaug  Arnlaugsfiord ;  and  other  men  went  to  the  west 
district. 

The  Baptism,  of  Leif  the  Fortunate. 

And  when  the  sixth3  winter  had  passed  [A.  D.  999.] 
since  Eric  Red  went  to  live  in  Greenland,  Leif,  son  of  Eric, 
went  over  from  Greenland  to  Norway,  and  in  the  autumn 


1  As  we  certainly  know  that  Christianity  was  established  in  Iceland  in 
the  year  A.  D.  1000,  the  final  settlement  of  Eric  and  his  followers  must  have 
taken  place  during1  the  year  assigned,  viz :  985. 

3  See  Ardiquitntes  Americana,  p.  15,  note  a. 

3  Evidently  an  error.     See  Antiquitates  Americana,  p.  15,  note  3. 


18  PRE-COLUMBIAN  DISCOVERY  OF 

arrived  in  Throiidheim  and  came  north  to  King  Olaf  Try- 
gvesson,1  from  Hegeland.  He  brought  his  ship  to  Nidaros 
and  went  at  once  to  King  Olaf.  The  king  commanded  Leif 
and  some  other  pagan  men  to  come  to  him.  They  were 
exhorted  to  accept  religion,  which  the  king  having  easily 
arranged  with  Leif,  he  and  all  his  sailors  were  baptized, 
and  passed  the  winter  with  the  king,  being  liberally  enter 
tained. 

SECOND  NARRATIVE. 

Thorvold  the  son  of  Usvold,  son  of  Ulf,  son  of  Oexne- 
Thorer,  and  his  son,  Eric  Red,  left  Jardar  in  Norway  on 
account  of  manslaughter,  and  took  possession  of  a  piece  of 
land  on  Hornastrand  [Iceland],  and  lived  there  at  Dran- 
.  gey.  There  Thorvold  died.  Eric  then  married  Thorhild, 
daughter  of  Jorund  Atleson  and  Thorbiarg  Knarrabringa, 
who  was  then  married  to  Thorbiorn  of  Haukdale.  Then 
Eric  went  from  the  north  and  ploughed  the  fields  in  Hauk 
dale.  Then  he  lived  in  Ericstadt  by  Yatshorn.  There  his 
thralls2  let  a  piece  of  rock  tumble  down  over  Valthiof's 


1  This  king  propagated  Christianity  by  physical  force,  and  marked  the 
course  of  his  missionary  tours  with  fire  and  blood ;  which  might  have  been 
expected  from  a  barbarian  just  converted  from  the  worship  of  Odin  and 
Thor. 

2  These  thralls  were  slaves,  though  slavery  in  Iceland  assumed  peculiar 
features.     The  following  from  the  Saga  of  Oisli  the  Outlaw,  shows  the 
relation  that  slaves  held  to  freemen.     We  read,  that  on  one  occasion,  Gisli 
had  borrowed  a  famous  sword  of  Koll,  and  the  latter  asked  to  have  it 
back,  but  Gisli  in  reply  asks  if  he  will  sell  it,  receiving  a  negative  reply. 
Then  he  says :   "  I  will  give  thee  thy  freedom  and  goods,  so  that  thou 
mayest  fare  whither  thou  wilt  with  other  men."     This  is  also  declined, 
when  Gisli  continues :    "  Then  I  will  give  thee  thy  freedom,  and  lease,  or 
give  thee  land,  and  besides  I  will  give  thee  sheep,  and  cattle  and  goods,  as 
much  as  thou  needest."     This  he  also  declines,  and  Kol,  when  Gisli  asks 
him  to  name  a  price,  offering  any  sum  of  money,  besides  his  freedom,  and 
"  a  becoming  match,  if  thou  hast  a  liking  for  any  one."     But  Kol  refused  to 


AMERICA  BY  THE  NORTHMEN.  19 

house  in  Valthiofstadt.  But  his  relation,  Eyulf  Soirs,  killed 
the  thralls  at  Kneide-Brinke  above  Yatshorn.  For  this 
cause,  Eric  killed  Eyulf  Soirs.  He  also  killed  Holm-Gang 
Eafn  at  Leikskaale.  Geirstein  and  Odd  at  Jorund  Eyulf 
Soirs  relations  brought  a  suit  against  the  slayer.  Eric  was 
then  banished  from  Hauksdale,  arid  took  possession  of  the 
islands,  Broko  and  Oexno,  but  lived  in  Todum  at  Sydero, 
the  first  winter.  Then  he  loaned  Thorgest  his  seat-posts. 
Then  Eric  moved  to  Oexno  and  lived  in  Ericstadt.  Then 
he  demanded  his  seat-posts,  but  did  not  get  them.  Eric 
took  them  thereafter  from  Bredobolstad,  but  Thorgest 
followed  him.  They  fought  near  the  house  at  Drangey. 
Two  sons  of  Thorgest  fell,  and  some  other  men.  There 
after  they  both  kept  their  followers  with  them.  Styr, 
Eyulf  of  Svino,  Thorbrand's  sons  of  Alptefiord,  and  Thor- 
biorn  Yifilsson,  were  of  Eric's  party.  But  Thord  Gelleirson, 
Thorgeir  from  Hitardale,  Aslak  of  Langedale,  and  Illuge's 
son  helped  Thorgest.  Eric  and  his  party  were  sentenced 
to  be  banished  at  Thorsness  Thing.  He  fitted  out  a  ship 
in  Ericsfiord,  but  Eyulf  concealed  him  in  Dimonsvaag, 
while  Thorgest  and  his  men  sought  after  him  on  the 
highlands.  Thorbiorn,  Eyulf  and  Styr  followed  with  Eric 
out  to  sea  beyond  the  islands.  He  said  that  he  meant  to 
seek  the  land  Gunnbiorn,  Ulf  Krage's  son,  saw  [A.  D.  876.] 
when  he  was  driven  by  a  storm  west  from  Iceland,  and 
found  Gunnbiorn's  Rocks ;  though  he  said  at  the  same  time 
if  he  discovered  the  land  he  would  return  to  his  friends. 
[A.  D.  982.]  Eric  laid  his  course  to  the  west  from  Snse- 
fieldness,  and  approached  [Greenland]  from  the  sea  to 


sell  it  at  any  price,  which  refusal  led  to  a  fight,  and  in  the  first  onset,  the 
slave's  axe  sank  into  Gisli's  brain,  while  the  disputed  sword,  Gray  steel,  clove 
the  thick  skull  of  Kol.  See  the  Saga  of  Oisli  the  Outlaw,  p,  6,  Edinburgh, 
1866.  Also  the  Saga  of  Eric  Red,  where  Thorbiorn  thinks  it  an  indignity 
that  Einar  should  ask  for  the  hand  of  his  daughter  in  marriage,  Einar  being 
the  son  of  a  slave. 


20  PRE-COLUMBIAN  DISCOVERY  OF 

land  at  Midjokul,  in  that  place  that  is  called  Blresark. 
From  thence  he  went  along  the  coast  to  the  south,  to  see  if 
the  land  was  fit  to  live  in.  The  first  year  he  stayed  all 
winter  in  Erickso,  nearly  in  the  middle  of  the  west  bygd. 
In  the  next  spring  [A.  D.  983.]  he  went  to  Ericsfiord,  and 
there  found  a  dwelling.  E"ext  summer  he  went  to  the 
western  bygd,  and  gave  certain  names  to  many  places. 
The  second  winter  he  lived  in  Ericsholm,  at  Hvarfo  Fied- 
spidse,  and  at  the  third  summer  [A.  D.  984.]  he  went  north 
to  Sneefield,  inside  of  Rafnsfiord.  He  thought  then  that 
the  place  where  Ericsfiord  bent  was  opposite  the  place 
where  he  came.  He  then  returned  and  spent  the  third 
winter  in  Erickso  opposite  the  mouth  of  Ericsfiord.  The 
next  summer  [A.  D.  985.]  he  wrent  to  Iceland,  and  landed 
at  Breidafiord.  The  next  winter  he  stayed  at  Holmstater, 
with  Ingolf.  Next  spring  he  fought  with  Thorgest  and 
lost  the  battle.  That  summer,  Eric  began  to  settle  the 
land  which  he  had  discovered  [A.  D.  986.]  and  which  he 
called  Greenland,  because  he  said  that  the  people  w^ould 
not  like  to  move  there,  if  the  land  did  not  have  a  good 
name.  Learned  men  say  that  twenty-five  ships  went  that 
summer  to  Greenland  from  Breidafiord  and  Borgafjord, 
but  only  fourteen  arrived.  Of  the  rest,  some  were  driven 
back  and  others  were  wrecked.  This  happened  fifteen 
winters  before  Christianity  was  introduced  into  Iceland. 

THIRD  NARRATIVE. 

The  land  some  call  Greenland,  was  discovered  and 
settled  from  Iceland.  Eric  the  Red  was  the  name  of  the 
Breidafiord  man,  who  [A.  D.  986.]  went  from  here  [Iceland] 
to  there,  and  took  possession  of  that  part  of  the  land,  which 
later  was  called  Ericsfiord.  He  named  the  land  and  called 
it  Greenland,  and  said  it  would  encourage  people  to  come 
there,  if  the  land  had  a  good  name.  They  found  there, 


AMERICA  BY  THE  NORTHMEN.  21 

both  east  and  west,  ruins  of  houses  and  pieces  of  boats, 
and  begun  stonework.  From  which  it  is  to  be  seen  what 
kind  of  people  have  lived  inVinland,  and  which  the  Green- 
landers  call  Skrselings  and  who  had  been  there.  He  [Eric] 
began  to  settle  the  land  fourteen  or  fifteen  years  before  the 
introduction  of  Christianity  in  Iceland.  Afterwards  this 
w^as  told  of  Greenland  to  Thorkel  Gelleirson,  by  a  man 
who  had  himself  followed  Eric  Eed. 


m.  THE  VOYAGE  OF  BIARNE. 

The  voyage  of  Biarne  to  Greenland  was  attended  by 
many  hardships.  His  vessel  was  blown  away  from  the 
course  during  a  storm,  at  which  time  he  saw  the  shores  of 
the  American  continent,  yet  he  made  no  attempt  to  land. 
Of  this  voyage  we  have  two  versions.  The  first  is  a 
translation  of  a  passage  from  Codex  Flatoiensis,  given  in 
Antiquitates  Americanos ,  p.  17.  The  second  is  taken  from 
Gronland's  Historiske  Mindesmcerker.  The  date  of  this 
voyage  is  fixed  by  the  fact  that  Biarne  sailed  the  same 
season  that  his  father  settled  in  Greenland,  which,  as 
Ave  learn  from  the  narrative  of  Eric,  was  in  the  year 
985.  There  is  a  complete  agreement  between  this  account 
and  the  preceding. 

FIRST  NARRATIVE. 

Heriulf  was  the  son  of  Bard,  Heriulf 's  son,  who  was  a 
relation  of  Ingolf  theLandnamsman.1  Ingolf  gave  Heriulf 
land  between  Vog  and  Reikianess.  Heriulf  dwelt  first  at 
Dropstock.  His  wife  was  called  Thorgird,  and  their  son 


1  Original  settler  or  freeholder,  whose  name  and  possessions  were  recorded 
in  the  Landnama-lok. 


22  PRE-COLUMBIAN  DISCOVERY  OF 

was  called  Biarne.  He  was  a  promising  young  man.  In 
his  earliest  youth  he  had  a  desire  to  go  abroad,  and  he 
soon  gathered  property  and  reputation ;  and  was  by  turns 
a  year  abroad,  and  a  year  with  his  father.  Biarne  was 
soon  in  possession  of  a  merchant  ship  of  his  own.  The 
last  winter  [A.  D.  985.]  while  he  was  in  Norway,  Heriulf 
prepared  to  go  to  Greenland  with  Eric,  and  gave  up  his 
dwelling.  There  was  a  Christian  man  belonging  to  the 
Hebudes  along  with  Heriulf,  who  composed  the  lay  called 
the  Hafgerdingar  l  Song,  in  which  is  this  stave  : 

May  he  whose  hand  protects  so  well 
The  simple  monk  in  lonely  cell, 
And  o'er  the  world  upholds  the  sky, 
His  own  blue  hall,  still  stand  me  by.'2 

Heriulf  settled  at  Heriulfness  [A.  D.  985.]  and  became  a 
very  distinguished  man.  Eric  Red  took  up  his  abode  at 
Bratthalid,  and  was  in  great  consideration,  and  honored  by 
all.  These  were  Eric's  children :  Leif,  Thorvold,  and  Thor- 
stein ;  and  his  daughter  was  called  Ferydis.  She  was  married 
to  a  man  called  Thorvald  ;  and  they  dwelt  at  Gardar,  which 


1  This  poem  no  longer  exists.     Its  subject,  the  Hafgerdingar,  is  described 
as  a  fearful  body  of  water,  "  which  sometimes  rises  in  the  sea  near  Green5 
land  in  such  a  way  that  three  large  rows  of  waves  inclose  a  part  of  the  sea, 
so  that  the  ship  that  finds  itself  inside,  is  in  the  greatest  danger." — Qron- 
land's  Historiske  Mindismcerker,  vol.  i,  p.  264.     There  does  not  appear  to 
be  any  better  foundation  for  this  motion  of  the  Hafgerdingar  than  of  the  old 
accounts  of  the  Maelstrom,  once  supposed  to  exist  on  the  coast  of  Norway. 
The  Hafgardingar  may  have  originated  from  seeing  the  powerful  effect  of  a 
cross  sea  acting  on  the  tide. 

2  To  this  translation  may  be  added  another  in  metre,  by  Beamish  : 

O  thou  who  triest  holy  men  ! 

Now  guide  me  on  my  way  ; 
Lord  of  the  earth's  wide  vault,  extend 

Thy  gracious  hand  to  me. 

This  appears  to  be  the  earliest  Christian  prayer  thus  far  found  in  connec 
tion  with  this  period  of  American  history. 


AMERICA  BY  THE  NORTHMEN.  23 

is  now  a  bishop's  seat.  She  was  a  haughty,  proud  woman ; 
and  he  was  but  a  mean  man.  She  was  much  given  to 
gathering  wealth.  The  people  of  Greenland  were  heathen 
at  this  time.  Biarne  came  over  the  same  summer  [A.  D. 
985.]  with  his  ship  to  the  strand  l  which  his  father  had 
sailed  abroad  from  in  the  spring.  He  was  much  struck  with 
the  news,  and  would  not  unload  his  vessel.  When  his 
crew  asked  him  what  he  intended  to  do,  he  replied  that 
he  was  resolved  to  follow  his  old  custom  by  taking  up  his 
winter  abode  with  his  father.  "  So  I  will  steer  for  Green 
land  if  ye  will  go  with  me."  They  one  and  all  agreed  to 
go  with  him.  Biarne  said,  "  Our  voyage  will  be  thought 
foolish,  as  none  of  us  have  been  on  the  Greenland  sea 
before."  Nevertheless  they  set  out  to  sea  as  soon  as  they 
were  ready,  and  sailed  for  three  days,  until  they  lost  sight 
of  the  land  they  left.  But  when  the  wind  failed,  a  north 
wind  with  fog  set  in,  and  they  knew  not  where  they  were 
sailing  to ;  and  this  lasted  many  days.  At  last  they  saw  the 
sun,  and  could  distinguish  the  quarters  of  the  sky  ;  so  they 
hoisted  sail  again,  and  sailed  a  whole  day  and  night,  when 
they  made  land.  They  spoke  among  themselves  what 
this  land  could  be,  and  Biarne  said  that,  in  his  opinion,  it 
could  not  be  Greenland.  On  the  question,  if  he  should 
sail  nearer  to  it,  he  said,  "  It  is  my  advice  that  we  sail  up 
close  to  the  land."  They  did  so;  and  they  soon  saw  that 
the  land  was  without  mountains,  was  covered  with  woods, 
and  that  there  were  small  hills  inland.  They  left  the  land 
on  the  larboard  side,  and  had  their  sheet  on  the  land  side. 


1  ^Eyrar.  This  is  not  the  name  of  a  place  —  for  Heriulf  dwelt  in  Iceland 
at  a  place  called  Dropstock  —  but  of  a  natural  feature  of  ground ;  eyri,  still 
called  an  ayre  in  the  Orkney  islands,  being  a  flat,  sandy  tongue  of  land, 
suitable  for  landing  and  drawing  up  boats  upon.  All  ancient  dwellings  in 
those  islands,  and  probably  in  Iceland  also,  are  situated  so  as  to  have  the 
advantage  of  this  kind  of  natural  wharf,  and  the  spit  of  land  called  an  ayre, 
very  often  has  a  small  lake  or  pond  inside  of  it,  which  shelters  boats. — Laing. 


24  PRE-COLUMBIAN  DISCOVERY  OF 

Then  they  sailed  two  days  and  nights  before  they  got  sight 
of  land  again.  They  asked  Biarne  if  they  thought  this 
would  be  Greenland  ;  but  he  gave  his  opinion  that  the  land 
was  no  more  Greenland,  than  the  land  they  had  seen 
before.  "For  on  Greenland,  it  is  said,  there  are  great 
snow  mountains."  They  soon  came  near  to  the  land,  and 
saw  that  it  was  flat  and  covered  with  trees.  Now,  as  the 
wind  fell,  the  ship's  people  talked  of  its  being  advisable  to 
make  for  the  land;  but  Biarne  would  not  agree  to  it. 
They  thought  that  they  would  need  wood  and  water ;  but 
Biarne  said:  "Ye  are  not  in  want  of  either."  And  the 
men  blamed  him  for  this.  He  ordered  them  to  hoist 
the  sail,  which  was  done.  They  now  turned  the  ship's 
bow  from  the  land,  and  kept  the  sea  for  three  days  and 
nights,  with  a  fine  breeze  from  southwest.  Then  they  saw 
a  third  land,  which  was  high  and  mountainous,  and  with 
snowy  mountains.  Then  they  asked  Biarne  if  he  would 
land  here  ;  but  he  refused  altogether  :  "  For  in  my  opinion 
this  land  is  not  what  we  want."  l  Now  they  let  the  sails 
stand  and  kept  along  the  land  and  saw  it  was  an  island. 
Then  they  turned  from  the  land  and  stood  out  to  sea  with 
the  same  breeze;  but  the  gale  increased,  and  Biarne 
ordered  a  reef  to  be  taken  in,  and  not  to  sail  harder  than 
the  ship  and  her  tackle  could  easily  bear.  After  sailing 
three  days  and  nights,  they  made,  the  fourth  time,  land ; 


1  The  details  of  this  voyage  are  very  simple,  yet  whoever  throws  aside 
his  old  time  prejudices,  and  considers  the  whole  subject  with  the  care  which 
it  deserves,  cannot  otherwise  'than  feel  persuaded  that  Biarne  was  driven 
upon  this  Continent,  and  that  the  land  seen  was  the  coast  of  that  great 
territory  which  stretches  between  Massachusetts  and  Newfoundland,  for 
there  is  no  other  land  to  answer  the  description.  Of  course,  no  particular 
merit  can  be  claimed  for  this  discovery.  It  was  also  accidental,  something 
like  the  discovery  of  America  by  Columbus,  who,  in  looking  for  the  East 
Indies,  stumbled  upon  a  new  world.  Yet  Biarne's  discovery  soon  led  to 
substantial  results. 


AMERICA  BY  THE  NORTHMEN.  25 

and  when  they  asked  Biarne  if  he  thought  this  was  Green 
land  or  not,  Biarne  replies  :  "  This  is  most  like  what  has 
been  told  me  of  Greenland ;  and  here  we  shall  take  to  the 
land."  They  did  so,  and  came  to  the  land  in  the  evening, 
under  a  ness,  where  they  found  a  boat.  On  this  ness 
dwelt  Biarne's  father,  Heriulf;  and  from  that  it  is  called 
Heriulfness.  Biarne  went  to  his  father's,  gave  up  sea 
faring,  and  after  his  father's  death,  continued  to  dwell 
there  when  at  home. 


SECOND  NARRATIVE. 

A  man  named  Heriulf,  son  of  Bard,  son  of  Heriulf,  a 
relation  to  Landnamsman  Ingolf,  who  gave  the  last  named 
Heriulf  the  piece  of  land  that  lies  between  Yaag  and  Rei- 
kianess.  The  younger  Heriulf  went  to  Greenland,  when 
Eric  Red  began  to  settle  there,  and  on  his  ship  was  a 
Christian  man  from  the  South  Islands  [the  Hebrides]  who 
was  the  author  of  the  poem,  Havgerdingar,  in  which  was  the 
following  verse  : 

I  to  the  monk's  protector  pray 
That  he  will  give  my  voyage  luck  ! 
The  heaven's  great  Ruler 
Save  me  from  danger. 

Heriulf  took  possession  of  Heriulfsfiord,  and  became  one 
of  the  chief  men.  Eric  Red  took  to  himself  Ericsfiord, 
and  lived  in  Brattahlid,  and  Leif,  his  son,  after  his  death. 
Those  men  who  at  the  same  time  went  away  with  Eric 
took  possession  of  the  following  pieces  of  land :  Heriulf 
Heriulfsfiord,  and  he  lived  in  Heriulfness,  Ketil  Ketilsfiord, 
Rafn  Rafnsfiord,  Solve  Solvedale,  Snorro  Thorbrandson 
Alptefiord,  Thorbiornglora  Siglefiord,  Einar  Einarsfiord, 
Havgrim  Havgrirnsfiord  and  Vatnahverf,  Arnlaug  Arn- 
laugfiorcl;  but  some  went  to  the  westbygd.  A  man  named 
4 


26  PRE-COLUMBIAN  DISCOVERY  OF 

Thorkel  Forsark,  cousin  to  Eric  Red  on  their  mother's 
side,  went  to  Greenland  with  Eric,  and  took  possession  of 
Hvalsofiord,  together  with  the  greater  part  of  the  piece  of 
land  between  Eyolfsfiord  and  Einarsliord,  and  lived  in 
Hvalosofne.  From  him  came  the  Hvalsofiord  people. 
He  was  very  strong.  Once  Eric  Red  visited  him,  and  he 
would  welcome  his  guest  in  the  best  way  possible,  but  he 
had  no  boats  at  hand  which  he  could  use.  He  was  com 
pelled  to  swim  out  to  Hvalso,  and  get  a  full-grown  sheep,1 
and  carry  it  on  his  back  home  to  his  house.  It  was  a 
good  half  mile.  Thorkel  was  buried  in  a  cave  in  the  field 
of  Hvalsofiord. 


IV.  LEIF'S  VOYAGE  TO  VIKLAND. 

This  voyage  is  recorded  in  the  Flato  Manuscript,  and  is 
given  in  Antiqtdtates  Americance,  pp.  26-40.  It  contains  the 
account  of  the  voyage  of  Leif,  son  of  Eric  the  Red,  who, 
following  out  the  hints  of  Biarne,  sailed  to  discover  the 


Considerable  has  been  said  at  various  times  in  opposition  to  these 
accounts,  because  cattle  and  sheep,  and  sometimes  horses,  are  mentioned  in 
connection  with  Greenland.  Some  have  supposed  that,  for  these  reasons, 
the  Saga  must  be  incorrect.  Yet,  in  more  modern  times,  there  has  been 
nothing  to  prevent  the  people  from  keeping  such  animals,  though  it  has 
been  found  better  to  substitute  dogs  for  horses.  Crantz  says,  that  in  "  the 
year  1759,  one  of  our  missionaries  brought  three  sheep  with  him  from 
Denmark  to  New  Herrnhuth.  These  have  so  increased  by  bringing  some 
two,  some  three  lambs  a  year,  that  they  have  been  able  to  kill  some  every 
year  since,  to  send  some  to  Lichtenfels,  for  a  beginning  there,  and,  after  all, 
to  winter  ten  at  present.  We  may  judge  how  vastly  sweet  and  nutritive 
the  grass  is  here,  from  the  following  tokens  :  that  tho'  three  lambs  come 
from  one  ewe,  they  are  larger,  even  in  autumn,  than  a  sheep  of  a  year  old 
in  Germany."  He  says  that  in  the  summer  they  could  pasture  two  hun 
dred  sheep  around  New  Herrnhuth  ;  and  that  they  formerly  kept  cows, 
but  that  it  proved  too  much  trouble. — History  of  Greenland,  vol.  I,  p.  74. 


AMERICA  BY  THE  NORTHMEN.  27 

new  land,  which  he  called  Vinland,  on  account  of  the 
quantity  of  vines  that  he  found  growing  wild.  Several 
extracts  are  appended,  because  of  interest  in  connection 
with  the  subject. 


[A.  D.  984.]  It  is  next  to  be  told  that  Biarne  Heriulfson 
came  over  from  Greenland  to  Norway,  on  a  visit  to  Earl 
Eric,  who  received  him  well.  Biarne  tells  of  this  expedition 
of  his,  in  which  he  had  discovered  unknown  land;  and 
people  thought  he  had  not  been  very  curious  to  get  know 
ledge,  as  he  could  not  give  any  account  of  those  countries, 
and  he  was  somewhat  blamed  on  this  account.  [A.  D.  986.] 
•Biarne  was  made  a  Court  man  of  the  earl,  and  the  summer 
after  he  went  over  to  Greenland ;  and  afterwards  there 
was  much  talk  about  discovering  unknown  lands.  Leif,  a 
son  of  Eric  Red  of  Brattahlid,  went  over1  to  Biarne  Heri- 
nlfson,  and  bought  the  ship  from  him,  and  manned  the 
vessel,  so  that  in  all,  there  were  thirty-five  men  on  board. 
Leif  begged  his  father  Eric  to  go  as  commander  of  the 
expedition  ;  but  he  excused  himself,  saying  he  was  getting 
old,  and  not  so  able  as  formerly  to  undergo  the  hardship 
of  a  sea  voyage.  Leif  insisted  that  he  among  all  their 
relations  was  the  most  likely  to  have  good  luck  on  such  an 
expedition ;  and  Eric  consented,  and  rode  from  home  with 
Leif,  when  they  had  got  all  ready  for  sea;  but  when  they 
were  coming  near  to  the  ship,2  the  horse  on  which  Eric 


1  He  must  have  gone  over  to  Greenland  from  Norway  then,  as  in  the  year 
1000,  he  returned  and  introduced  Christianity  into  Greenland.     The  lan 
guage  used  is  indefinite. 

2  One  recension  of  the  Saga  of  Eric  the  Red,  states  that  he  went  with 
Leif  on  his  voyage  to  Vinland.     Finn  Magnusen  says  that  the  error  arose 
from  a  change  of  one  letter  in  a  pair  of  short  words.     See  Gr  (inland's  His- 
torlske  Mindesmmrker,  vol.  i,  p.  471. 


28  PRE-COLUMBIAN  DISCOVERY  OF 

was  riding,  stumbled,  and  he  fell  from  his  horse l  and  hurt 
his  foot.  "  It  is  destined,"  said  Eric,  "  that  I  should  never 
discover  more  lands  than  this  of  Greenland,  on  which  we 
live ;  and  now  we  must  not  run  hastily  into  this  adven 
ture."  2  Eric  accordingly  returned  home  to  Brattahlid,  but 
Leif,  with  his  comrades,  in  all  thirty-five  men,  rigged  out 
their  vessel.  There  was  a  man  from  the  south  country 
called  Tyrker,3  with  the  expedition.  [A.  D.  1000.]  They 
put  the  ship  in  order,  and  put  to  sea  when  they  were  ready. 
They  first  came  to  the  land  which  Biarne  had  last  dis 
covered,  sailed  up  to  it,  cast  anchor,  put  out  a  boat  and 
went  on  shore ;  but  there  was  no  grass  to  be  seen.  There 
were  large  snowy  mountains4  up  the  country;  but  all  the 
way  from  the  sea  up  to  these  snowy  ridges,  the  land  was 
one  field  of  snow,  and  it  appeared  to  them  a  country  of  no 
advantages.  Leif  said  :  "  It  shall  not  be  said  of  us,  as  it 
was  of  Biarne,  that  we  did  not  come  upon  the  land;  for  I 
will  give  the  country  a  name,  and  call  it  Ilelluland.5 
Then  they  went  on  board  again  and  put  to  sea,  and  found 
another  land.  They  sailed  in  towards  it,  put  out  a  boat, 


1  Horses  could  be  kept  in  Greenland  now,  only  with  much  expense.     It 
appears  that  anciently  it  was  not  so.     Undoubtedly  there  has  been  more 
or  less  of  change  in  climate.     Geologists  find  evidence  that  at  one  period,  a 
highly  tropical  climate  must  have  existed  in  the  northern  regions. 

2  Superstition  was  the  bane  of  the  Northman's  life.     He  was  also  a  firm 
believer  in  Fate.     The  doctrines  of  Fate  held  the  finest  Northern  minds  in  a 
vice-like  grasp,  so  that  in  many  cases  their  lives  were   continually  over 
shadowed  by   a  great   sorrow.     One  of  the  saddest  illustrations  of  this 
belief,  may  be  found  in  the  Saga  of  Qrettir  the  Strong  (given  in  Baring- 
Gould's  work  on  Iceland),  a  Saga  in  which  the  doctrine  appears  with  a 
power  that  is  well  nigh  appalling. 

3  Some  suppose  that  he  was  a  German,  others  claim  that  he  was  a  Turk, 
as  his  name  might  indicate. 

4  Snowy  mountains,  Joklar  tniklir,  such  as  Chappell   mentions  having 
been  seen  on  the  coast,  June  14,  1818. 

5  Helluland,  from  .Hella,&  fiat  stone,  an  abundance  of  which  may  be  found 
in  Labrador  and  the  region  round  about. 


AMERICA  BY  THE  NORTHMEN.  29 

and  landed.  The  country  was  flat,1  and  overgrown  with 
wood ;  and  the  strand  far  around,  consisted  of  a  white 
sand,  and  low  towards  the  sea.  Then  Leif  said  :  "  We 
shall  give  this  land  a  name  according  to  its  kind,  and 
called  it  Markland." 2  Then  they  hastened  on  hoard,  and 
put  to  sea  again  with  the  wind  from  the  northeast,  and  were 
out  for  two  days  and,  made  land.  They  sailed  towards  it, 
and  came  to  an  island 3  which  lay  on  the  north  side 


1  This  agrees  with  the  general  features  of  the  country.  The  North  Ame 
rican  Pilot  describes  the  land  around  Halifax,  as  "  low  in  general,  and  not 
visible  twenty  miles  off;  except  from  the  quarter-deck  of  a  seventy-four. 
Apostogon  hills  have  a  long,  level  appearance,  between  Cape  Le  Have  and 
Port  Medway,  the  coast  to  the  seaward  being  level  and  low,  and  the  shores 
with  white  rocks  and  low,  barren  points ;  from  thence  to  Shelburne  and 
Port  Roseway,  are  woods.  Near  Port  Haldiman  are  several  barren  places, 
and  thence  to  Cape  Sable,  which  makes  the  southwest  point  into  Barrington 
Bay,  a  low  and  woody  island." —  Antiquitates  Americans,  p.  423. 

1  Markland  is  supposed,  with  great  reason,  to  be  Nova  Scotia,  so  well 
described,  both  in  the  Saga,  and  in  the  Coast  Pilot.  Markland  means 
woodland.  Two  days  sail  thence,  brought  them  in  view  of  Cape  Cod, 
though  very  likely  the  sailing  time  is  not  correct. 

3  This  island  has  given  the  interpreters  considerable  trouble, -from  the 
fact  that  it  is  said  to  lie  to  the  northward  of  the  land.  And  Professor  Rafn, 
in  order  to  identify  this  island  with  Nantucket,  shows  that  the  north  point 
of  the  Icelandic  compass  lay  towards  the  east.  But  this  does  not  fairly 
meet  the  case.  There  would,  perhaps,  have  been  no  difficulty  in  the 
interpretation,  if  the  Northern  Antiquarians  had  been  acquainted  with  the 
fact,  that  in  early  times  an  island  existed  northward  from  Nantucket,  on 
the  opposite  coast  of  Cape  Cod.  This  island,  together  with  a  large  point  of 
land  which  now  has  also  disappeared,  existed  in  the  times  of  Gosnold,  who 
sailed  around  Cape  Cod,  in  1602.  The  position  of  this  island,  together  with 
the  point  of  land,  is  delineated  in  the  map  given  in  the  Appendix.  At  one 
time,  some  doubt  existed  in  regard  to  the  truthfulness  of  the  accounts,  for 
the  reason  that  those  portions  of  land  described,  no  longer  existed.  Yet 
their  positions  were  laid  down  with  scientific  accuracy ;  the  outer  portion 
of  the  island  being  called  Point  Care,  while  the  other  point  was  called  Point 
Gilbert.  Neither  Archer  nor  Brereton  in  their  accounts  of -Gosnold's  voyage, 
give  the  name  of  the  island  ;  but  Captain  John  Smith,  in  1614,  calls  it  "  Isle 
Nawset."  Smith's  History  of  Virginia,  vol.  u,  p.  183.  This  island  was  of 
the  drift  formation,  and  as  late  as  half  a  century  ago,  a  portion  of  it  still 


30  PRE-COLUMBIAN  DISCOVERY  OF 

of  the  land,  where  they  disembarked 1  to  wait  for  good 
weather.  There  was  dew  upon  the  grass;  and  having 
accidentally  gotten  some  of  the  dew  upon  their  hands  and 
put  it  in  their  mouths,  they  thought  that  they  had  never 


remained,  being  called  Slut  Bush.  The  subject  has  been  very  carefully 
gone  into  by  Mr.  Otis,  in  his  pamphlet  on  the  Discovery  of  an  Ancient  Ship 
on  Cape  Cod.  Professor  Agassiz,  writing  December  17,  1863,  says  :  "  Sur 
prising  and  perhaps  incredible  as  the  statements  of  Mr.  Amos  Otis  may 
appear,  they  are  nevertheless  the  direct  and  natural  inference  of  the  observ 
ations  which  may  be,easily  made  along  the  eastern  coast  of  Cape  Cod.  Having 
of  late  felt  a  special  interest  in  the  geological  structure  of  that  remarkable 
region,  I  have  repeatedly  visited  it  during  the  past  summer,  and,  in  com 
pany  with  Mr.  Otis,  examined,  on  one  occasion,  with  the  most  minute  care, 
the  evidence  of  the  former  existence  of  Isle  Nauset  and  Point  Gilbert.  I 
found  it  as  satisfactory  as  any  geological  evidence  can  be.  Besides  its 
scientific  interest,"  he  adds,  "  this  result  has  some  historical  importance.  At 
all  events  it  fully  vindicates  Archer's  account  of  the  aspect  of  Cape  Cod,  at 
the  time  of  its  discovery  in  1602,  and  shows  him  to  have  been  a  truthful 
and  accurate  observer."  But  possibly  the  vindication  may  extend  back  even 
to  the  Northmen,  whom  the  learned  professor  and  his  colaborers  did  not 
have  in  mind ;  especially  as  this  discovery  will  help  very  materially  to 
explain  their  descriptions.  Now,  in  the  first  account  of  Thorfinn  Karlsefne's 
passage  ground  this  part  of  the  Vinland,  it  is  said  that  they  called  the  shore 
Wonder-strand,  "  because  they  were  so  long  going  by,"  Yet  any  one  in 
sailing  past  the  coast  to-day  will  not  be  struck  with  its  length.  But  by 
glancing  at  the  reconstructed  map  of  Cape  Cod  (see  Appendix),  the  reader 
will  find  that  the  coast  line  is  greatly  increased,  so  that  in  order  to  pass 
around  the  cape,  the  navigator  must  sail  a  long  distance  ;  and,  comparing 
this  distance  travelled  with  the  distance  actually  gained,  the  Northmen 
mighl  well  grow  weary,  and  call  it  Wonder-strand.  This  quite  relieves  the 
difficulty  that  was  felt  by  Professor  Rafn,  who  labored  to  show  that  the 
island  in  question  was  Nantucket,  notwithstanding  the  fact  that  it  lay  too 
far  east.  For  a  fuller  knowledge  of  Isle  Nauset,  see  New  England  His 
toric  and  Genealogical  Register,  vol.  xvm,  p.  37 ;  and  Massachusetts 
Historical  Collections,  vol.  vin,  series  in,  pp.  72-93. 

'In  speaking  of  the  immediate  vicinity  of  Wonder-strand,  the  second 
account  of  Thorfinn's  expedition  says,  "  There  were  places  without  har 
bors,"  which  has  always  been  the  case,  this  coast  being  dangerous ;  yet 
it  is  said  above  that  i'  they  landed  to  wait  for  good  weather."  This  would 
be  impracticable  now,  except  at  Chatham  ;  yet  at  that  day,  notwithstanding 
the  absence  of  harbors,  they  would  find  accommodation  for  their  small 


AMERICA  BY  THE  NORTHMEN.  31 

tasted  anything  so  sweet  as  it  was.1  Then  they  went  on 
board  and  sailed  into  a  sound 2  that  was  between  the  island 
and  a  ness 3  that  went  out  northwards  from  the  land,  and 
sailed  westward4  past  the  ness.  There  was  very  shallow5 
water  in  ebb  tide,  so  that  their  ship  lay  dry;  arid  there  was 
a  long  way  between  their  ship  and  the  water.  They  were 
so  desirous  to  get  to  the  land  that  they  would  not  wait  till 
their  ship  floated,  but  ran  to  the  land,  to  a  place  where  a 
river  comes  out  of  a  lake.  As  soon  as  their  ship  was 
afloat  they  took  the  boats,  rowed  to  the  ship,  towed  her 


vessel  somewhere  between  the  island  and  the  mainland.  From  Bradford's 
History,  p.  217,  we  learn  that  in  1626-7,  there  was  at  this  place  "  a 
small  blind  harbore  "  that  "  lyes  aboute  ye  middle  of  Manamoyake  Bay," 
which  to-day  is  filled  up  by  recently  formed  sandy  wastes  and  salt  meadows. 
This  "  blind  harbore,"  had  at  its  mouth  a  treacherous  bar  of  sand.  If  this 
harbor  had  existed  in  the  days  of  the  Northmen,  they  would  not  of 
necessity  discover  it ;  and  hence  while  Leif  might  have  landed  here  and 
found  protection,  Thorfinn,  in  Ijis  much  larger  ship,  might  have  found  it 
needful  to  anchor,  as  he  appears  to  have  done,  in  the  grounds  between 
Isle  Nauset  and  Point  Gilbert,  while  explorations  were  being  made  on  the 
land.  ^. 

1 "  Honey  dew,"  says  Dr.  Webb,  "  occurs  in  this  neighborhood." — Anti- 
quitates  American®,  p.  443. 

2  This  sound    may  have  been    the  water   between  Point   Gilbert  and 
Isle  Nauset. 

3  Archer  says  in  his  account  of  Gosnold's  voyage  :   "  Twelve  leagues  from 
[the  end  of]  Cape  Cod,  we  descried  a  point   [Point   Gilbert]  with  some 
beach,  a  good  distance  off."     It  is   said  that  the  ness,  or  cape,  went  out 
northward  but  we  must  remember  that  eastward  is  meant. 

4  This  is  precisely  the  course  they  would  steer  after  doubling  that  ness  or 
cape  which  existed  in  Gosnold's  day,  and  which  he  named  Point  Gilbert. 
The  author  does  not  agree  with  Professor  Ram,  in  making  this  point  to  be 
at  the  eastern  entrance  to  Buzzard's  bay.     If  he  had  known  of  the  existence 
of  the  Isle  Nauset,  he  would  not  have  looked  for  the  ness  in  that  neighbor 
hood.     At  that  time  Cape  Malabar  probably  did  not  exist,  as  we  know  how 
rapidly  land  is  formed  in  that  vicinity  ;  yet  it  would  not  have  attracted 
notice  in  comparison  with  the  groat  broad  point  mentioned  by  Archer. 

5  After  passing  Point  Gilbert,  shoal  water  may  almost  any  where  be  found, 
which  appears  to  have  been  the  case  anciently. 


32  PRE-COLUMBIAN  DISCOVERY  OF 

up  the  river,1  and  from  thence  into  the  lake,2  where  they 
cast  anchor,  carried  their  beds  out  of  the  ship,  and  set  up 
their  tents.  They  resolved  to  put  things  in  order  for 
wintering  there,  and  they  erected  a  large  house.  They  did 
not  want  for  salmon,3  both  in  the  river  and  in  the  lake ;  and 
they  thought  the  salmon  larger  than  any  they  had  ever 
seen  before.  The  country  appeared  to  them  of  so  good  a 
kind,  that  it  would  not  be  necessary  to  gather  fodder  for 
the  cattle  for  winter.4  There  was  no  frost  in  winter,5  and 
the  grass  was  not  much  withered.  Day  and  night  were 
more  equal  than  in  Greenland  and  Iceland ;  for  on  the 
shortest  day  the  sun  was  in  the  sky  between  Eyktarstad 6 


1  The  river  was  evidently  Seaconnet  passage  and  Pocasset  river. 

2  This  lake  is  Mount  Hope  Bay.     The  writer  of  the  Saga  passes  over  that 
part   of  the  voyage  immediately  following  doubling  of  the  ness.      The 
tourist  in  travelling  that  way  by  rail  will  at  first  take  Mount  Hope  Bay 
for  a  lake. 

3  Salmon  were  formerly  so  plentiful   in  this  vicinity,  that  it  is  said  a 
rule  was  made,  providing  that  masters  should  not  oblige  their  apprentices 
to  eat  this  fish  more  than  twice  a  week. 

4  It  is  well  known  that  cattle  in  that  vicinity  can  pass  the  winter  with  little 
or  no  shelter,  and  the  sheep  on  Nantucket,  can,  when  necessary,  take  care 
of  themselves. 

5  This  is  an  exaggeration,  or,  possibly,  the  writer,  who  was  not  with  the 
expedition,  meant  to  convey  the  idea  that  there  was  no  frost,  compared  with 
what  was  experienced  in  Greenland  and  Iceland.     The  early  narrator  of  the 
voyage  unquestionably  tried  to  make  a  good  impression  as  regards  the 
climate.     In  so  doing,  he  has  been  followed  by  nearly  all  who  have  come 
after  him.     Eric  the  Red  told   some  almost   fabulous  stories  about  the 
climate  of  Greenland ;  and  yet,  because  his  accounts  do  not  agree  with  facts, 
who  is  so  foolish  as  to  deny  that  he  ever  saw  Greenland  ?    And  with  as 
much  reason  we  might  deny  that  Leif  came  to  Vinland.    With  equal  reason, 
too,  we  might  deny  that  Morton  played  the  rioter  at  Merry  Mount ;  for  he 
tells  us  in  his  New  English  Canaan,  that  coughs  and  colds  are  unknown 
in  New   England.     Lieutanant   Governor  Dudley  of  Massachusetts  com 
plained  of  these  false  representations  in  his  day. 

0  This  passage  was  misunderstood  by  Torfceus,  the  earliest  writer  who 
inquired  into  these  questions,  and  he  was  followed  by  Peringskiold,  Malte- 
Brun  and  others,  who,  by  their  reckoning,  made  the  latitude  of  Vinland 


AMERICA  BY  THE  NORTHMEN.  33 

and  the  Dagmalastad.  Now  when  they  were  ready  with 
their  house  building,  [A.  D.  1001.]  Leif  said  to  his  fellow 
travellers:  "  Now  I  will  divide  the  crew  into  two  divisions, 


somewhere  near  Nova  Scotia.  Yet  the  recent  studies  of  Rafn  and  Finn 
Magnussen,  have  elucidated  the  point :  "  The  Northmen  divided  the 
heavens  or  horizons,  into  eight  principal  divisions,  and  the  times  of  the 
day  according  to  the  sun's  apparent  motion  through  these  divisions,  the 
passage  through  each  of  which  they  supposed  to  occupy  a  period  of  three 
hours.  The  day  was  therefore  divided  into  portions  of  time  corresponding 
with  these  eight  divisions,  each  of  which  was  called  an  eykt,  signifying  an 
eighth  part.  This  eykt  was  again  divided,  like  each  of-the  grand  divisions 
of  the  heavens,  into  two  smaller  and  equal  portions,  called  stund  or  mat. 
In  order  to  determine  these  divisions  of  time,  the  inhabitant  of  each  place 
carefully  observed  the  diurnal  course  of  the  sun,  and  noted  the  terrestrial 
objects  over  which  it  seemed  to  stand.  Such  an  object,  whether  artificial 
or  natural,  was  called  by  the  Icelanders,  dagsmark  (daymark).  They  were 
also  led  to  make  these  daymarks  by  a  division  of  the  horizon  according  to 
the  principal  winds,  as  well  as  by  the  wants  of  their  domestic  economy 
The  shepherd's  rising  time,  for  instance,  was  called  Hirdis  rismdl,  which 
corresponds  with  half-past  four  o'clock  A.  M.,  and  this  was  the  beginning 
of  the  natural  day  of  twenty-four  hours.  Reckoning  from  Hirdis  rismdl 
the  eight  stund  or  eighth  half  eykt  ended  at  just  halt-past  four  P.  M. ;  and 
therefore  this  particular  period  was  called  xa<r'  s^c^v,  EYKT.  This  eykt, 
strictly  speaking,  commenced  at  three  o'clock  p.  M.,  and  ended  at  half-past 
four  P.  M.,  when  it  was  said  to  be  in  eyktarstadr  or  the  termination  of  the 
eykt.  The  precise  moment  that  the  sun  appeared  in  this  place  indicated  the 
termination  of  the  artificial  day  (dagr),  and  half  the  natural  day  (dagr), 
and  was  therefore  held  especially  deserving  of  notice  :  the  hours  of  labor, 
also,  are  supposed  to  have  ended  at  this  time.  Six  o'clock  A.  M.  was  called 
midr  morgun  ;  half-past  seven  A.  M.,  Dagmal;  nine  A.  M.,  Dagverdarmal. 
Winter  was  considered  to  commence  in  Iceland  about  the  seventeenth  of 
October,  and  Bishop  Thorlacius,  the  calculator  of  the  astronomical  calen 
dar,  fixes  sun-rise  in  the  south  of  Iceland,  on  the  seventeenth  of  October, 
at  half  past  seven  A.  M.  At  this  hour,  according  to  the  Saga,  it  rose  in 
Vinland  on  the  shortest  day,  and  set  at  half-past  four  p.  M.,  which  data 
fix  the  latitude  of  the  place  at  41°  43'  10X/,  being  nearly  that  of  Mount  Hope 
Bay."  See  Mem.  Antiq.  da  Word,  1836-7,  p.  165.  Rafn's  calculation  makes 
the  position  41°  24'  10".  It  is  based  on  the  view  that  the  observation  was 
made  in  Vinland  when  only  the  upper  portion  of  the  disc  had  appeared 
above  the  horizon.  The  difference,  of  course,  is  not  important.  Thus  we 
know  the  position  of  the  Icelandic  settlement  in  New  England.  See 
Antiquitates  Americana',  p.  436. 
5 


34  PRE-COLUMBIAN  DISCOVERY  OF 

and  explore  the  country.  Half  shall  stay  at  home  and  do 
the  work,  and  the  other  half  shall  search  the  land ;  but  so 
that  they  do  not  go  farther  than  they  can  come  back  in  the 
evening,  and  that  they  do  not  wander  from  each  other." 
This  they  continued  to  do  for  some  time.  Leif  changed 
about,  sometimes  with  them,  and  sometimes  with  those  at 
home.  Leif  was  a  stout  and  strong  man,  and  of  manly 
appearance;  and  was,  besides,  a  prudent  and  sagacious 
man  in  all  respects. 

It  happened  one  evening  that  a  man  of  the  party  was 
missing ;  and  it  was  the  south  country  man,  Tyrker.  Leif 
was  very  sorry  for  this,  because  Tyrker  had  long  been  in 
his  father's  house,  and  he  loved  Tyrker  in  his  childhood. 
Leif  blamed  his  comrades  very  much,  and  proposed  to 
go  with  twelve  men  on  an  expedition  to  find  him  ;  but 
they  had  gone  only  a  short  way  from  the  station  when 
Tyrker  came  to  meet  them,  and  he  was  joyfully  received. 
Leif  soon  perceived  that  his  foster  father l  was  quite 


1  In  those  turbulent  times  children  were  not  brought  up  at  home,  but 
were  sent  to  be  trained  up  in  the  families  of  trusty  friends.  This  was  done 
to  preserve  the  family  line.  Often,  in  some  bloody  feud,  a  whole  household 
would  be  destroyed ;  yet  the  children  being  out  at  foster,  would  be  pre 
served,  and  in  due  time  come  to  represent  the  family.  In  Leif's  day, 
heathenism  and  lawlessness  were  on  the  decline.  We  have  a  true  picture 
given  us  by  Dasent,  of  the  way  in  which  children  were  treated  in  the 
heathen  age. 

He  says :  "  With  us,  an  old  house  can  stand  upon  a  crooked,  as  well  as 
upon  a  straight  support.  But  in  Iceland,  in  the  tenth  century,  as  in  all  the 
branches  of  that  great  family,  it  was  only  healthy  children  that  were 
allowed  to  live.  The  deformed,  as  a  burden  to  themselves,  their  friends, 
and  to  society,  were  consigned  to  destruction  by  exposure  to  the  violence 
of  the  elements.  This  was  the  father's  stern  right,  and,  though  the  mothers 
of  that  age  were  generally  blessed  with  robust  offspring,  still  the  right 
was  often  exercised.  As  soon  as  it  was  born,  the  infant  was  laid 
upon  the  bare  ground,  and,  until  the  father  came  and  looked  at  it,  heard 
and  saw  that  it  was  strong  in  lung  and  limb,  took  it  up  in  his  arms,  and 
handed  it  over  to  the  nurse  ;  its  fate  hung  in  the  balance,  and  life  or  death 


AMERICA  BY  THE  NORTHMEN.  35 

merry.1  Tj'rker  had  a  high  forehead,  sharp  eyes,  with  a 
small  face,  and  was  little  in  size,  and  ugly  ;  but  was  very 
dexterous  in  all  feats.  Leif  said  to  him,  "  Why  art  thou  so 
late,  my  foster-father  ?  and  why  didst  thou  leave  thy  com 
rades?"  He  spoke  at  first  long  in  German,  rolled  his  eyes 
and  knit  his  brows ;  but  they  could  not  make  out  what  he 
was  saying.  After  a  while,  and  some  delay,  he  said  in 
Norse,  "  I  did  not  go  much  further  than  they  ;  and  yet  I 
have  something  altogether  new  to  relate,  for  I  found  vines 
and  grapes."2  "  Is  that  true,  my  foster-father?7'  said  Leif. 
"Yes,  true  it  is,"  answered  he,  "for  I  was  born  where 


depended  upon  the  sentence  of  its  sire.  That  danger  over,  it  was  duly 
washed,  signed  with  the  Thunderer's  [Thor's]  holy  hammer  —  the  symbol  of 
all  manliness  and  strength  —  and  solemnly  received  into  the  family  as  the 
faithful  champion  of  the  ancient  gods.  When  it  came  to  be  named,  there 
was  what  we  should  call  the  christening  ale.  There  was  saddling, 
mounting  and  riding  among  kith  and  kin.  Cousins  came  in  bands  from  all 
points  of  the  compass:  dependents,  freedmen  and  thralls  all  mustered 
strong.  The  ale  is  broached,  the  board  is  set,  and  the  benches  are  thronged 
with  guests  ;  the  mirth  and  revelry  are  at  the  highest,  when  in  strides  into 
the  hall,  a  being  of  awful  power,  in  whom  that  simple  age  set  full  faith. 
This  was  the  Nome,  the  wandering  prophetess,  sybil,  fortune  teller,  a 
woman  to  whom  it  was  given  to  know  the  weirds  of  men,  and  who  had 

come  to  do  honor  to  the  child,  and  tell  his  fortune After  the  child  was 

named,  he  was  often  put  out  to  foster  with  some  neighbor,  his  father's  infe 
rior  in  power,  and  there  he  grew  up  with  the  children  of  the  house,  and 
contracted  those  friendships  and  affections  which  were  reckoned  better  and 
more  binding  than  the  ties  of  blood." — Antiquaires  du  Nord,  1859,  pp.  8-9. 

1  There  is  nothing  in  this  to  indicate  that  Tyrker  was  intoxicated,  as  some 
have  absurdly  supposed.  In  this  far  off  land  he  found  grapes,  which  power 
fully  reminded  him  of  his  native  country,  and  the  association  of  ideas  is  so 
strong,  that  when  he  first  meets  Leif,  he  breaks  out  in  the  language  of  his 
childhood,  and,  like  ordinary  epicures,  expresses  his  joy,  which  is  all  the 
more  marked  on  account  of  his  grotesque  appearance.  Is  not  this  a  stroke  of 
genuine  nature,  something  that  a  writer,  framing  the  account  of  a  fictitious 
voyage,  would  not  dream  of  V 

2Grrapes  grow  wild  almost  everywhere  on  this  coast.  They  may  be 
found  on  Cape  Cod  ripening  among  the  scrub  oaks,  even  within  the  reach 
of  the  ocaan  spray,  where  the  author  has  often  gathered  them. 


36  PRE-COLUMBIAN  DISCOVERY  OF 

there  was  no  scarcity  of  grapes."  Now  they  slept  all  night, 
and  the  next  morning  Leif  said  to  his  men,  "  Now  we 
shall  have  two  occupations  to  attend  to,  and  day  about ; 
namely,  to  gather  grapes  or  cut  vines,  and  to  fell  wood  in 
the  forest  to  lade  our  vessel."  And  this  advice  was  fol 
lowed.  It  is  related  that  their  stern  boat  was  filled  with 
grapes,  and  then  a  cargo  of  wood  was  hewn  for  the  vessel.1 
Towards  spring  they  made  ready  and  sailed  sway,  and  Leif 
gave  the  country  a  name  from  its  products,  and  called  it 
Vinland.2  They  now  sailed  into  the  open  sea  and  had  a 
fair  wind  until  they  came  in  sight  of  Greenland  and  the 
lands  below  the  ice  mountains.3  Then  a  man  put  in  a 
word  and  said  to  Leif,  "  Why  do  you  steer  so  close  on 
the  wind  ?  "  Leif  replied  :  "  I  mind  my  helm  and  tend  to 
other  things  too ;  do  you  notice  anything  ?  "  They  said 
that  they  saw  nothing  remarkable.  "  I  do  not  know," 
said  Leif,  "  whether  I  see  a  ship  or  a  rock."  Then  they 
looked  and  saw  that  it  was  a  rock.  But  he  saw  so  much 
better  than  they,  that  he  discovered  men  upon  the  rock. 
"  Now  I  will,"  said  Leif,  "  that  we  hold  to  the  wind,  that 
we  may  come  up  to  them  if  they  should  need  help  ;  and  if 
they  should  not  be  friendly  inclined,  it  is  in  our  power  to 
do  as  we  please  and  not  theirs."  Now  they  sailed  under 


1  In  Peringskiold's  Heimskringla,  which  Laing  has  followed  in  translating 
Leif  s  voyage  for  his  appendix,  this  statement  of  the  cutting  of  wood  is 
supplemented  by  the   following  statement :   "  There  was  also  self-sown 
wheat  in  the  fields,  and  a  tree  which  is  called  massur.     Of  all  these  they 
took  samples ;  and  some  of  the  trees  were  so  large  that  they  were  used 
in  houses."     It  is  thought  that  the  massur  wood  was  a  species  of  maple. 
Others  have  declared  that  it  must  have  been  mahogany,  and  that  therefore 
the  account   of  Leif's  discovery  is  false.      They  forget  that  even  George 
Popham,  in  writing  home  to  his  patron  from  Sagadahoc,  in  1607,  says  that 
among  the  productions  of  the  country  are  "  nutmegs  and  cinnamon."     Yet 
shall  we  infer  from  this  that  Popham  never  saw  New  England  ? 

2  See  Adam  of  Bremen's  testimony  in  the  Introduction. 

3  It  will  be  noticed  that  they  were  close  upon  the  Greenland  coast. 


AMERICA  BY  THE  NORTHMEN.  37 

the  rock,  lowered  their  sails,  cast  anchor,  and  put  out 
another  small  boat  which  they  had  with  them.  Then 
Tyrker  asked  who  their  leader  was.  He  said  his  name 
was  Thorer,  and  said  he  was  a  Northman  ; l  "  But  what  is 
your  name  ?  "  said  he.  Leif  told  his  name.  "  Are  you  the 
son  of  Eric  the  Red  of  Brattahlid  ? "  he  asked.  Leif  said 
that  was  so.  "  Now  I  will,"  said  Leif,  "  take  ye  and  all 
on  board  my  ship,  and  as  much  of  the  goods  as  the  ship 
will  store."  They  took  up  this  oifer,  and  sailed  away  to 
Ericfiord  with  the  cargo,  and  from  thence  to  Brattahlid, 
where  they  unloaded  the  ship.  Leif  offered  Thorer  and 
his  wife,  Gudrid,  and  three  others,  lodging  with  himself, 
and  offered  lodging  elsewhere  for  the  rest  of  the  people, 
both  of  Thorer' s  crew  and  his  own.  Leif  took  fifteen  men 
from  the  rock,  and  thereafter  was  called,  Leif  the  Lucky. 
After  that  time  Leif  advanced  greatly  in  wealth  and  con 
sideration.  That  winter,  sickness  came  among  Thorer's 
people,  and  he  himself,  and  a  great  part  of  his  crew,  died. 
The  same  winter  Eric  Ked  died.  This  expedition  to 
Vinlandwas  much  talked  of,  and  Leif's  brother,  Thorvald, 
thought  that  the  country  had  not  been  explored  enough  in 
different  places.  Then  Leif  said  to  Thorvald,  "  You  may 
go,  brother,  in  my  ship  to  Yinland  if  you  like ;  but  I  will 
first  send  the  ship  for  the  timber  which  Thorer  left  upon 
the  rock."  And  so  it  was  done. 


1  They  were  evidently  Norwegian  traders  who  were  shipwrecked  while 
approaching  the  coast  and  sailing  for  the  Greenland  ports. 


38  PRE-COLUMBIAN  DISCOVERY  OF 

SECOND  NARRATIVE. 

The  same  spring,  King  Olaf,  as  said  before,  sent  Gis- 
sur l  and  Hialte 2  to  Iceland.  The  king  also  sent  Leif  to 
Greenland  to  proclaim  Christianity  there.  The  king  sent 
with  him,  a  priest,  and  some  other  religious  men,  to  bap 
tize  the  people  and  teach  them  the  true  faith.  Leif  sailed 
the  same  summer  to  Greenland ;  he  took  up  out  of  the 
ocean,  the  people  of  a  ship  who  were  on  a  wreck  completely 
destroyed,  and  in  a  perishing  condition.  And  on  this 
same  voyage  he  discovered  Vinland  the  Good,3  and  came 
at  the  close  of  summer  to  Brattahlid,  to  his  father  Eric. 
After  that  time  the  peeple  called  him,  Leif  the  Fortunate  ; 
but  his  father  Eric  said  that  these  two  things  went  against 
one  another;  that  Leif  had  saved  the  crew  of  the  ship,  and 
delivered  them  from  death,  and  that  he  had  [brought]  that 
bad  man  into  Greenland,  that  is  what  he  called  the  priest; 
but  after  much  urging,  Eric  was  baptized,4  as  well  as  all 
the  people  of  Greenland. 


1  Gissur,  called  the  White,  was  one  of  the  greatest  lawyers  of  Iceland. 
We  read  that  "there  was  a  man  named  Gissur  White,  he  was  Teit's  son, 
Kettlebiarne  the  Old's  son,  of  Mossfell  [Iceland].     Bishop  Isleif  was  Gissur's 
son.     Gissur  the  White  kept  house  at  Mossfell,  and  was  a  great  Chief. "- 
Saga  of  Burnt  Nial,  vol.  i,  p.  146. 

2  Hialte  was  doubtless  the  same  person  who  entered  the  swimming  match 
with  King  Olaf.     See  Saga  of  Olaf  Tryggvesson. 

3  This  is  an  error,  unless  the  writer  means  that  the  voyage  to  Vinland, 
afterwards  undertaken,  was  a  part  of  the  same  general  expedition.     Leif 
went  to  Greenland  first,  as  we  have  already  seen. 

4  These  pagans  did  not  always  yield  even  so  readily  as  Eric.     Some  in  Nor 
way  became  martyrs  to  the  faith  of  Odin.     See  Saga  of  Olaf 

),  in  vol.  i  of  Ileimskringla. 


AMERICA  BY  THE  NORTHMEN.  39 

THIRD  NARRATIVE. 

.  The  same  winter,  Leif,  the  son  of  Eric  the  Red,  was  in 
high  favor  with  King  Olaf,  and  embraced  Christianity. 
But  the  summer  that  Gissur  went  to  Iceland,  King  Olaf 
sent  Leif  to  Greenland,  to  proclaim  Christianity.  He  sailed 
the  same  summer  for  Greenland.  He  found  some  men  in 
the  sea  on  a  wreck,  and  helped  them  ;  the  same  voyage,1 
he  discovered  Yinland  the  Good,  and  came  at  harvest  time 
to  Greenland.  He  brought  with  him  a  priest  and  other 
religious2  men,  and  went  to  live  at  Brattahlid  with  his 
father  Eric.  He  was  afterwards  called,  Leif  the  Fortu 
nate.  But  his  father  Eric  said,  that  these  two  things  were 
opposed  to  one  another,  because  Leif  had  saved  the  crew 
of  the  ship,  and  brought  evil  men  to  Greenland,  meaning 
the  priests. 


V.  THORYALD  ERICSON'S  EXPEDITION. 

The  greater  portion  of  this  voyage  appears  to  have  been 
performed  during  two  summers,  the  expedition  finally 
returning  to  Greenland  on  account  of  the  death  of  their 
leader.  The  narrative  is  taken  from  Codex  Flatb'iensis,  as 
given  in  Antiquitates  Americanos. 


Now  Thorvald  [A.  D.  1002.]  made  ready  for  his  voyage 
with  thirty  men,  after  consulting  his  brother  Leif.  They 
rigged  their  ship,  and  put  to  sea.  Nothing  is  related  of 
this  expedition  until  they  came  to  Yinland,  to  the  booths 
put  up  by  Leif,  where  they  secured  the  ship  and  tackle, 


1  See  note  to  foregoing  account. 

2  These  appear  to  have  been  married  men  or  secular  clergy. 


40  PRE-COLUMBIAN  DISCOVERY  OF 

and  remained  quietly  all  winter  and  lived  by  fishing.  In 
spring  [A.  D.  1003.]  Thorvald  ordered  the  vessel  to  be 
rigged,  and  that  some  men  should  proceed  in  the  long 
boat  westward  along  the  coast,  and  explore  it  during  the 
summer.  They  thought  the  country  beautiful  and  well 
wooded,  the  distance  small  between  the  forest  and  the  sea, 
and  the  strand  full  of  white  sand.  There  were  also  many 
islands  and  very  shallow  water.  They  found  no  abode 
for  man  or  beast,  but  on  an  island  far  towards  the  west, 
they  found  a  corn  barn  constructed  of  wood.  They  found 
no  other  traces  of  human  work,  and  came  back  in  autumn 
to  Leif's  booths.  The  following  spring,  [A.  D.  1004.] 
Thorvald,  with  his  merchant  ship,  proceeded  eastwards,  and 
towards  the  north  along  the  land.1  Opposite  to  a  cape  2 
they  met  bad  weather,  and  drove  upon  the  land  and  broke 
their  keel,  and  remained  there  a  long  time  to  repair  the 
vessel.  Thorvald  said  to  his  companions :  "  We  will  stick 
up  the  keel  here  upon  the  ness,  and  call  the  place 
Kialarness,"  which  they  did.  Then  they  sailed  away  east 
ward  along  the  country,  to  a  point  of  land,3  which  was 
everywhere  covered  with  woods.  They  moored  the  vessel 
to  the  land,  laid  out  gangways  to  the  shore,  and  Thorvald 
with  all  his  ship's  company,  landed.  He  said,  "  Here  it  is 
beautiful,  and  I  would  willingly  set  up  my  abode  here." 


1  This  clearly  indicates  a  voyage  around  Cape  Cod. 

2  This  cape  was  evidently,  not  Point  Gilbert,  but  the  terminus  of  Cape 
Cod,  known  as  Race  Point,  a  dangerous  place  for  navigation.     It  would 
seem  that  this  was  the  place  referred  to,  for  the  reason  that  the  next  place 
mentioned  is  the  east  shore,  meaning  the  shore  near  Plymouth,  which  is 
readily  seen  from  the  end  of  Cape  Cod  in  a  clear  day.     It  was  undoubtedly 
the  vicinity  of  Race  Point  that  they  called  Kialarness,  or  Keel  Cape. 

3  Here  the  version  in  Antiquitates  Americana,  p.  42,  is  followed,  instead 
of  Peringskiold,  whose  version  does  not  mention  the  point  of  land.     This 
place  is  regarded  as  Point   Alderton,  below   Boston   Harbor.     Thorvald 
evidently  sailed  along  the  shore  to  this  point,  which  is  the  most  remark 
able  on  the  east  coast. 


AMERICA  BY  THE  NORTHMEN.  41 

They  afterwards  went  on  board,  and  saw  three  specks  upon 
the  sand  within  the  point,  and  went  to  them  and  found 
there  were  three  skin  boats  with  three  men  under  each 
boat.  They  divided  their  men  and  took  all  of  them 
prisoners,  except  one  man,  who  escaped  with  his  boat. 
They  killed  eight  of  them,  and  then  went  to  the  point  and 
looked  about  them.  Within  this  bay  they  saw  several 
eminences,  which  they  took  to  be  habitations.  Then  a 
great  drowsiness  came  upon  them  and  they  could  not  keep 
themselves  awake,  but  all  of  them  fell  asleep.  A  sudden 
scream  came  to  them,  and  they  all  awoke;  and  mixed  with 
the  scream  they  thought  they  heard  the  words  :  "Awake, 
Thorvald,  with  all  thy  comrades,  if  ye  will  save  your  lives. 
Go  on  board  your  ship  as  fast  as  you  can,  and  leave  this 
land  without  delay."  In  the  same  moment  an  innumer 
able  multitude,  from  the  interior  of  the  bay,  came  in  skin 
boats  and  laid  themselves  alongside.  Then  said  Thorvald, 
"  We  shall  put  up  our  war  screens1  along  the  gunwales 
and  defend  ourselves  as  well  as  we  can,  but  not  use  our 
weapons  much  against  them."  They  did  so  accordingly. 
The  Skrsellings2  shot  at  them  for  a  while,  and  then  fled 
away  as  fast  as  they  could.  Then  Thorvald  asked  if  any 
one  was  wounded,  and  they  said  nobody  was  hurt.  He 
said  :  "  I  have  a  wound  under  the  arm.3  An  arrow  flew 


1  These  screens  were  made  of  planks  which  could  be  quickly  arranged 
above  the  bulwarks,  thus  affording  additional  protection  against  arrows 
and  stones. 

2  These  people  are  sometimes  called  Smaellingar,  or  small  men.     Others 
deduce  their  name  from  skrcela,  to  dry,  alluding  to  their  shriveled  aspect ; 
and  others  from  skrcekia  to  shout.     It  is  evident  from  the  accounts  of  Egede 
and  Crantz,  that  they  formerly  inhabited  this  part  of  the  country,  but  were 
gradually  obliged  to  go  northward.     It  is  well  known  that  in  other  parts  of 
America,  these  migrations  were  common.     And  these  people  were  more 
likely  to  take  a  refuge  in  Greenland  than  the  Northmen  themselves. 

3  The  conduct  of  Thorvald  indicates  magnanimity  of  character,  thinking 
first  of  his  men,  and  afterwards  of  himself. 


42  PRE-COLUMBIAN  DISCOVERY  OF 

between  the  gunwale  and  the  shield  under  my  arm  :  here 
is  the  arrow,  and  it  will  be  my  death  wound.  Now  I 
advise  you  to  make  ready  with  all  speed  to  return ;  but  ye 
shall  carry  me  to  the  point  which  I  thought  would  be  so 
convenient  for  a  dwelling.  It  may  be  that  it  was  true 
what  I  said,  that  here  would  I  dwell  for  a  while.  Ye  shall 
bury  me  there,  and  place  a  cross  at  my  head  and  one  at  my 
feet,  and  call  the  place  Crossness."  Christianity  had  been 
established  in  Greenland  at  this  time ; l  but  Eric  Red  was 
dead2  before  Christianity  was  introduced.  ~Now  Thorvald 
died,  and  they  did  everything  as  he  had  ordered.  Then 
they  went  away  in  search  of  their  fellow  voyagers;  and 
they  related  to  each  other  all  the  news.  They  remained 
in  their  dwelling  all  winter,  and  gathered  vines  and  grapes, 
and  put  them  on  board  their  ships.  Towards  spring,  they 
prepared  to  return  to  Greenland,  where  they  arrived  with 
their  vessel,  and  landed  atEricsfiord,  bringing  heavy  tidings 
to  Leif. 


1  Christianity  was  introduced  by  Leif,  Thorvald's  brother,  in  1001-2. 

2  This  is  evidently  an  error,  for  Christianity  was  introduced  by  Leif,  before 
he  sailed  on  his  voyage  to  Vinland.     Errors  like  this  abound  in  all  early 
annals,  and  why  should  the  Icelandic  chronicles  be  free  from  them  ?    Every 
such  case  will  be  impartially  pointed  out.     The  treatment  of  this  passage 
by  Smith,  in  his  Dialogues  on  the  Northmen,  p.  127,  is  far  from  being 
candid.     He  translates  the  passage   thus :     "  But  Eric  the  Red  had  died 
without  professing  Christianity,"  and  refers  the  English  reader  to  the  Saga 
of  Thorfinn  Karlseme,  Antiquitates  Americana,  pp.  119-20,  as  if  he  would 
there  find  a  reason  for  his  rendering  of  the  text,  which  is  unequivocal,  and 
is  translated  literally  above.     On  turning  to  the  authority  in  question,  we 
find  nothing  more  said  than  that  "  Eric  was  slow  to  give  up  his  [pagan] 
religion,"  and  that  the  affair  caused  a   separation  between  him  and  his 
wife.     That  he  was  slow  to  give  up  his  pagan  belief,  would  seem  to  indi 
cate  that  he  did  give  it   up   eventually.     Moreover,  we   have  the 
statement  that  he  was  baptized.     Second  Narrative  of  Leif,  p.  38. 


AMERICA  BY  THE  NORTHMEN.  43 


VI.    THORSTEIN  ERICSON'S  ATTEMPT  TO  FIND 
VINLAKD. 

This  version  is  from  Codex  Flatoiensis,  and  is  given  in 
Antiqmtates  Americance,  pp.  47-55.  The  expedition  was 
wholly  unsuccessful,  and  the  leader  finally  died  without 
reaching  the  desired  land.  One  cannot  help  feeling,  not 
withstanding  the  marvellous  events  recorded,  that  the  basis 
of  this  account,  is  formed  of  solid  fact.  The  main  narrative 
is  not  one  likely  to  have  been  invented  by  an  impostor. 


In  the  meantime  it  had  happened  in  Greenland,  that 
Thorstein  of  Ericsfiord  had  married,  and  taken  to  wife, 
[A.  D.  1005.]  Gudrid,  the  daughter  of  Thorbiorn,  who 
had  been  married,  as  before  related,  to  Thorer,  the  East 
man.1  Thorstein  Ericsson  bethought  him  now,  that  he 
would  go  to  Yiuland,  for  his  brother  Thorvald's  body. 
He  rigged  out  the  same  vessel,  and  chose  an  able  and 
stout  crew.  He  had  with  him,  twenty-five  men,  and  his 
wrife  Gudrid ;  and  as  soon  as  they  were  ready  he  put  to 
sea,  and  they  quickly  lost  sight  of  the  land.  They  drove 
about  on  the  ocean  the  whole  summer,  without  knowing 
where  they  were;  and  in  the  first  week  of  winter,2  they 
landed  at  Lysifiord  in  Greenland,  in  the  western  settle 
ment.  Thorstein  looked  for  lodgings  for  his  men,  and  got 
his  whole  ship's  crew  accommodated,  but  not  himself  and 
wife ;  so  that  for  some  nights  they  had  to  sleep  on  board. 
At  that  time  Christianity  was  but  recent  in  Greenland. 
One  day,  early  in  the  morning,  some  men  came  to  their 
tent,  and  the  leader  asked  them  what  people  were  in  the 


1  Norway  lay  east  of  Iceland,  and  hence  the  people  of  that  country  were 
sometimes  called  Eastmen. 

2  Winter  began  October  17.     See  p.  32,  note  (I. 


44  PRE-COLUMBIAN  DISCOVERY  OF 

tent  ?  Thorstein  replies,  "  Two  ;  who  is  it  that  asks  ?  " 
"  Thorstein,"  was  the  reply,  "  and  I  am  called  Thorstein 
the  Black,  and  it  is  my  errand  here,  to  offer  thee  and 
thy  wife  lodging  beside  me."  Thorstein  said  he  would 
speak  to  his  wife  about  it ;  and  as  she  gave  her  consent, 
he  agreed  to  it.  "  Then  I  shall  come  for  you  to-morrow 
with  my  horses,1  for  I  do  not  want  means  to  entertain  you; 
but  few  care  to  live  in  my  house,  for  I  and  my  wife  live 
lonely,  and  I  am  very  melancholy.  I  have  also  a  different 
religion 2  from  yours,  although  I  think  the  one  you  have, 
the  best."  Xow  the  following  morning  he  came  for  them 
with  horses ;  and  they  took  up  their  abode  with  Thorstein 
Black,  who  was  very  friendly  towards  them.  Gudrid  had 
a  good  outward  appearance,  and  was  knowing,  and  under 
stood  well  how  to  behave  with  strangers.  Early  in  the 
winter,  a  sickness  prevailed  among  Thorstein  Ericsson's 
people,  and  many  of  his  ship  men  died.  He  ordered  that 
coffins  should  be  made  for  the  bodies  of  the  dead,  and  that 
they  should  be  brought  on  board,  and  stowed  away  care 
fully  ;  for  he  said,  "  I  will  transport  all  the  bodies  to  Erics- 
fiord  in  summer."  It  was  not  long  before  sickness  broke 
out  in  Thorstein  Black's  house,  and  his  wife,  who  was 
called  Grimhild,  fell  sick  first.  She  was  very  stout,  and 
as  strong  as  a  man,  but  yet  she  could  not  bear  up  against 
the  illness.  Soon  after,  Thorstein  Ericksson  also  fell  sick, 
and  they  both  lay  ill  in  bed  at  the  same  time;  but  Grim 
hild,  Thorstein  Black's  wife  died  first.  When  she  was 
dead,  Thorstein  went  out  of  the  room  for  a  skin  to  lay 
over  the  corpse.  Then  Gudrid  said,  "  My  dear  Thorstein, 
be  not  long  away ; "  which  he  promised.  Then  said 
Thorstein  Ericsson,  "Our  housewife  is  wonderful,  for  she 


•   1  They  probably  had  diminutive  horses  in  Greenland,  like  this  of  Iceland 
to-day. 

2  Thorstein  Black  was  a  pagan,  who  nevertheless  saw  the  superior  value 
of  the  new  faith. 


AMERICA  BY  THE  NORTHMEN.  45 

raises  herself  up  with  her  elbows,  moves  herself  forward 
over  the  bed-frame,  and  is  feeling  for  her  shoes."  In  the 
same  moment,  Thorstein  the  Goodman,  came  back,  and 
instantly,  Grimhild  laid  herself  down,  so  that  it  made 
every  beam  that  was  in  the  house,  crack.  Thorstein  now 
made  a  coffin  for  Grimhild's  corpse,  removed  it  outside, 
and  buried  it.  He  was  a  stout  and  strong  man,  but  it 
required  all  his  strength  to  remove  the  corpse  from  the 
house.  ISTow  Thorstein  Ericsson's  illness  increased  upon 
him,  and  he  died,  which  Gudrid  his  wife  took  with  great 
grief.  They  were  all  in  the  room,  and  Gudrid  had  set 
herself  upon  a  stool  before  the  bench  on  which  her  hus 
band  Thorstein's  body  lay.  Now  Thorstein  the  goodrnan 
took  Gudrid  from  the  stool  in  his  arms,  and  set  himself 
with  her  upon  a  bench  just  opposite  to  Thorstein's  body,1 
and  spoke  much  with  her.  He  consoled  her,  and  promised 
to  go  with  her  in  summer  to  Ericsfiord,  with  her  husband 
Thorstein's  corpse,  and  those  of  his  crew.  "  And,"  said 
he,  "  I  shall  take  with  me  many  servants  to  console  and 
assist."  She  thanked  him  for  this.  Thorstein  Ericsson 
then  raised  himself  up  and  said,  "  Where  is  Gudrid  ? " 
And  thrice  he  said  this;  but  she  was  silent.  Then  she 
said  to  Thorstein  the  Goodman,  "  Shall  I  give  answer  or 
not?"  He  told  her  not  to  answer.  Then  went  Thorstein 
the  Goodman  across  the  room,  and  sat  down  in  a  chair, 
and  Gudrid  set  herself  on  his  knee;  and  Thorstein  the 
Goodman  said  :  "  What  wilt  thou  make  known  ?  "  After 
a  while  the  corpse  replies,  "  I  wish  to  tell  Gudrid  her  fate 
beforehand,  that  she  may  be  the  better  able  to  bear  my 
death;  for  I  have  come  to  a  blessed  resting  place.  And  this 
I  have  now  to  tell  thee,  Gudrid,  that  thou  wilt  be  married 


1  We  must  here  remember  the  simplicity  of  manners,  which  then  (as  now) 
prevailed  among  the  Icelanders.  The  tourist  in  Iceland  is  always  surprised 
by  the  absence  of  all  prudery. 


46  PRE-COLUMBIAN  DISCOVERY  OF 

to  an  Iceland  man,  and  ye  will  live  long  together;  and 
from  you  will  descend  many  men,  brave,  gallant  and  wise, 
and  a  well  pleasing  race  of  posterity.  Ye  shall  go  from 
Greenland  to  Norway,  and  from  thence  to  Iceland,  where 
ye  shall  dwell.  And  long  will  ye  live  together,  but  thou 
wilt  survive  him;  and  then  thou  shalt  go  abroad,  and  go 
southwards,  and  shall  return  to  thy  home  in  Iceland.  And 
there  must  a  church  be  built,  and  thou  must  remain  there 
and  be  consecrated  a  nun,  and  there  end  thy  days."  1  And 


1  Whoever  inclines  to  dismiss  this  whole  narrative  as  an  idle  fiction,  must 
remember  that  all  history  is  more  or  less  pervaded  by  similar  stories.  The 
Rev.  Cotton,  Mather,  in  his  Magnolia  of  New  England,  gives  the  account  of 
a  great  number  of  supernatural  events  of  no  better  character  than  this 
related  in  the  Saga.  Some  are  ludicrous  in  the  extreme,  and  others  are 
horrible,  both  in  their  inception  and  end.  Among  other  stories,  is  that  of 
Mr.  Philip  Smith,  deacon  of  the  church  at  Hadley,  Mass.,  and  a  member 
of  the  General  Court,  who  appears  to  have  been  bewitched.  He  was  finally 
obliged  to  keep  his  bed.  Then  it  is  said  that  the  people  "  beheld  fire  some 
times  on  the  bed ;  and  when  the  beholders  began  to  discourse  of  it,  it  van 
ished  away.  Divers  people  actually  felt  something  often  stir  in  the  bed, 
at  a  considerable  distance  from  the  man ;  it  seemed  as  big  as  a  cat,  but 
they  could  never  grasp  it.  Several  trying  to  lean  on  the  bed's  head,  tho' 
the  sick  man  lay  wholly  still,  the  bed  would  shake  so  as  to  knock  their 
heads  uncomfortably.  A  very  strong  man  could  not  lift  the  sick  man,  to 
make  him  lie  more  easily,  tho'  he  apply'd  his  utmost  strength  unto  it ;  and 
yet  he  could  go  presently  and  lift  the  bedstead  and  a  bed,  and  a  man  lying 
on  it,  without  any  strain  to  himself  at  all.  Mr.  Smith  dies.  .  .  .  After  the 
opinion  of  all  had  pronounced  him  dead,  his  countenance  continued  as 
lively  as  though  he  had  been  alive.  .  .  .  Divers  noises  were  heard  in  the 
room  where  the  corpse  lay  ;  as  the  clattering  of  chairs  and  stools,  whereof 
no  account  could  be  given." — Magnalia,  ed.  1853,  vol.  I,  p.  455.  The 
account  is  vouched  for  by  the  author,  who  was  one  of  the  most  learned 
divines  of  his  day.  Another  is  given,  among  the  multitude  of  which  he 
had  the  most  convincing  proof.  He  writes  :  "It  was  on  the  second  day  of 
May,  in  the  year  1687,  that  a  most  ingenious,  accomplish 'd  and  well-dispos'd 
young  gentleman,  Mr.  Joseph  Beacon  by  Name,  about  5  o'clock  in  the  morn 
ing,  as  he  lay,  whether  sleeping  or  waking  he  could  not  say  (but  he  judged 
the  latter  of  them),  had  a  view  of  his  brother,  then  at  London,  although  he 
was  himself  at  our  Boston,  distanc'd  from  him  a  thousand  leagues.  This  his 
brother  appojvr'd  to  him  in  tho  morning  (I  say)  about  5  o'clock,  at  Boston,  hav- 


AMERICA  BY  THE  NORTHMEN.  47 

then  Thorstein  sank  backwards,  and  his  corpse  was  put  in 
order  and  carried  to  the  ship.  Thorstein  the  Goodman 
did  all  that  he  had  promised.  He  sold  in  spring  [A.  D. 
1006.]  his  land  and  cattle,  and  went  with  Gudrid  and  all 
her  goods ;  made  ready  the  ship,  got  men  for  it,  and  then 
went  to  Ericsfiord.  The  body  was  buried  at  the  church.1 
Gudrid  went  to  Leif's  at  Brattahlid,  and  Thorstein  the 
Black  took  his  abode  in  Ericsfiord,  and  dwrclt  there  as 
long  as  he  lived;  and  was  reckoned  an  able  man. 


ing  on  him  a  Bengale  gown,  which  he  usually  wore,  with  a  napkin  ty'd  about 
his  head  ;  his  countenance  was  very  pale,  ghastly,  deadly,  and  he  had  a  bloody 
wound  on  the  side  of  his  forhead.  '  Brother,'  says  the  affrighted  Joseph, 
'  Brother,'  answered  the  apparition.  Said  Joseph,  '  What's  the  matter 
Brother  ?  how  came  you  here  ? '  The  apparition  replied  :  '  Brother  I  have 
been  most  barbarously  and  inhumanly  murdered  by  a  debauch'd  fellow,  to 
whom  I  never  did  any  wrong  in  my  life.'  Whereupon  he  gave  a  par 
ticular  description  of  the  murderer ;  adding,  '  Brother,  this  fellow,  changing 
his  name,  is  attempting  to  come  over  to  New  England,  in  Foy  or  Wild  :  I 
would  pray  you  on  the  arrival  of  either  of  these,  to  get  an  order  from  the 
governour  to  seize  the  person  whom  I  now  have  describ'd,  and  then  do 
you  indict  him  for  the  murder  of  your  brother.'  And  so  he  vanished." 
Mather  then  adds  an  account,  which  shows  that  Beacon's  brother  was 
actually  murdered  as  described,  dying  within  the  very  hour  in  which  his 
apparition  appeared  in  Boston.  He  says  that  the  murderer  was  tried,  but, 
with  the  aid  of  his  friends,  saved  his  life.  Joseph  himself,  our  author 
says,  died  "  a  pious  and  hopeful  death,"  and  gave  him  the  account  written 
and  signed  with  his  own  hand.  And  now,  while  New  England  history 
abounds  with  stories  like  this,  men  incline  to  question  an  Icelandic  writer, 
because  he  occasionally  indulges  in  fancies  of  the  same  sort.  Rather  should 
we  look  for  them,  as  authentic  contemporary  signs. 

1  Thorhild's  Church.     See  Antiquitates  Americanos,  p.  119. 


48  PRE-COLUMBIAN  DISCOVERY  OF 


VII.  THORFINN  KARLSEFNE'S  EXPEDITION  TO 
VINLAND. 

This  was  in  many  respects  the  most  important  expedi 
tion  to  New  England,  both  as  regards  the  numbers 
engaged,  and  the  information  and  experienced  derived. 
"We  have  three  different  accounts  of  this  expedition.  The 
first  is  from  the  somewhat  lengthy  Saga  of  Thorfinn 
Karl sefne,  from  the  Arnce-Magncean  Collection;  the  second 
is  from  the  Saga  of  Eric  the  Red,  being  called  "The 
Account  of  Thorfinn : "  while  the  third  is  a  briefer 
relation  from  Codex  Flatoiensis.  The  two  first  may  be 
found  in  Rafn's  Antiquitates  Americana,  pp.  75-200 ;  while 
the  last  is  also  given  in  the  same  work,  on  pp.  55-64. 

The  Saga  of  Karlsefrie  is  occupied  largely  at  the  begin 
ning  with  accounts  of  various  matters  connected  with 
social  life ;  yet,  as  such  subjects  are  not  essential  to  the 
treatment  of  the  subject,  they  are  all  omitted,  except  the 
account  of  Thorium's  marriage  with  the  widow  of  Thor- 
stein  Ericson. 

The  notes  to  the  narrative  of  Leif's  expedition,  which 
precedes  this  in  the  chronological  order,  supersede  the 
necessity  of  treating  a  number  of  important  points  sug 
gested  again  in  the  present  narrative. 
.  It  is  believed  that  the  principal  manuscript  of  Thorstein 
Karlsefne  is  a  genuine  autograph  by  one  of  his  descendants, 
the  celebrated  Hauk  Erlander,the  Governor  or  Lagman  of 
Iceland,  in  1295,  who  was  also  one  of  the  compilers  of  the 
Landnama-bok.  Erlander  was  the  ninth  in  descent  from 
Thorfinn.  Torfseus,  who  supposed  that  this  manuscript 
was  lost,  knew  it  only  through  corrupt  extracts  in  the  col 
lection  of  Biorn  Johnson. 

There  will  be  found  a  substantial  agreement  between 
the  different  accounts,  notwithstanding  they  are  not  the 


AMERICA  BY  THE  NORTHMEN.  49 

work  of  eye  witnesses.  The  differences  are  evidently  such, 
as  would  not  appear  in  the  case  of  three  writers  who  had 
banded  together  for  the  purpose  of  carrying  out  a  historical 
fraud.  The  Saga  of  Thorfinn  was  written  in  Iceland,  while 
that  of  Eric  was  composed  in  Greenland.  The  account 
from  the  Fldto  Manuscript,  was,  of  course,  written  in  the 
island  which  bears  that  name,  and  is  extremely  brief, 
wanting  many  essential  particulars. 


NARRATIVE  OF  THORFINN  KARLSEFNE. 

There  was  a  man  named  Thord,  who  dwelt  at  Hofda, 
in  Hofda-Strand.  He  married  Fridgerda,  daughter  of 
Thorer  the  Idle,  and  of  Fridgerda  the  daughter  of  Kiar- 
val,  King  of  the  Irish.  Thord  was  the  son  of  Biarue 
Byrdusmjor,1  son  of  Thorvald,  son  of  Aslak,  son  of  Biarne 
Ironsides,  son  of  Ragnar  Lodbrok.  They  had  a  son 
named  Snorre,  who  married  Thorhild  the  Partridge,  daugh 
ter  of  Thord  Geller.  They  had  a  son  named  Thord  Horse- 
head.  Thorfinn  Karlsefne  was  his  son,  whose  mother's 
name  was  Thoruna.  Thorfinn  occupied  his  time  in  mer 
chant  voyages,  and  was  thought  a  good  trader.  One 
summer  he  fitted  out  his  ship  for  a  voyage  to  Greenland, 
attended  by  Snorre  Thorbrandson  of  Alptafiord,  and  a  crew 
of  forty  men.  There  was  a  man  named  Biarne  Grimolfson 
of  Breidafiord,  and  another  named  Thorhall  Gamlason  of 
Austfiord.  The  men  fitted  out  a  ship  at  the  same  time,  to 
voyage  to  Greenland.  They  also  had  a  crew  of  forty  men. 
This  ship,  and  that  of  Thorfinn,  as  soon  as  they  were 
ready,  put  to  sea.  It  is  not  said  how  long  they  were  on 
the  voyage;  it  is  only  told  that  both  ships  arrived  at  Erics- 


1  Literally,  Biarne  Butter-tub,  from-  which  we  may,  perhaps,  infer  his 
personal  peculiarity. 


50  PRE-COLUMBIAN  DISCOVERY  OF 

•fiord  iii  the  autumn  of  that  year.  Leif l  and  other  people 
rode  down  to  the  ships,  and  friendly  exchanges  were  made. 
The  captains  requested  Leif  to  take  whatever  he  desired  of 
their  goods.  Leif  in  return,  entertained  them  well,  and 
invited  the  principal  men  of  both  ships  to  spend  the 
winter  with  him  at  Brattahlid.  The  merchants  accepted 
his  invitation  with  thanks.  Afterwards  their  eroods  were 

O 

moved  to  Brattahlid,  where  they  had  every  entertainment 
that  they  could  desire ;  therefore  their  winter  quarters 
pleased  them  much.  When  the  Yule  feast  began,  Leif 
was  silent  and  more  depressed  than  usual.  Then  Kaii- 
sefne  said  to  Leif:  "  Are  you  sick  friend  Leif ?  you  do  not 
seem  to  be  in  your  usual  spirits.  You  have  entertained 
us  most  liberally,  for  which  we  desire  to  render  you  all 
the  service  in  our  power.  Tell  me  what  it  is  that  ails 
you."  "  You  have  received  what  I  have  been  able  to 
offer  you,"  said  Leif,  "  in  the  kindest  manner  and  there  is 
no  idea  in  my  rnind  that  you  have  been  wanting  in 
courtesy  ;  but  I  am  afraid  lest  when  you  go  away,  it  may  be 
said  that  you  never  saw7  a  Yule2  feast  so  meanly  celebrated 
as  that  which  draws  near,  at  which  you  will  be  entertained 
by  Leif  of  Brattahlid."  "What  shall  never  be  the  case, 
friend,"  said  Karlsefne,  "we  have  ample  stores  in  the  ship  ; 
take  of  these  what  you  wish,  and  make  a  feast  as  splendid 
as  you  please."  Leif  accepted  this  ofier,  and  the  Yule 


1  Throughout  this  narrative  of  Thorfinn,  the  name  of  Eric  occurs  where 
that  of  Leif  should  be  given.     Eric  died  five  years  before   Thorfinn  came 
over  to  Greenland.     This  account  having  been  written  in   Iceland,  the 
author  made  a  very  natural  mistake  in  supposing  that  Eric  was  still  at  the 
head  of  the  family.     The  proper  change  has  been  made  in  the  translation, 
to  avoid  confusion. 

2  Yule  was  a  pagan  festival,  held  originally  in  honor  of  Thor,  the  god  of 
War,  at  the  beginning  of  February,  which  was  the  opening  of  the  North 
man's  year.      But  as  Christianity  had  been  established  in  Greenland  for 
five  years,  the  festival  was  now  probably  changed  to  December,  and  held 
in  honor  of  Christ. 


•    AMERICA  BY  THE  NORTHMEN.  51 

began ;  and  so  well  were  Leif  's  plans  made,  that  all  were 
surprised  that  such  a  rich  feast  could  be  prepared  in  so 
poor  a  country.  After  the  Yule  feast,  Karlsefne  began  to 
treat  with  Leif,  as  to  the  marriage  of  Gudrid,1  Leif  being 
the  person  to  whom  the  right  of  betrothal  belonged.  Lief 
gave  a  favorable  reply,  and  said  she  must  fulfill  that 
destiny  which  fate  had  assigned,  and  that  he  had  heard 
of  none  except  a  good  report  of  him ;  and  in  the  end  it 
turned  out  that  Karlsefne  married  Gudrid,  and  their  wed 
ding  was  held  at  Brattahlid,  this  same  winter. 

[A.  D.  1007.]  The  conversation  often  turned  at  Brattah 
lid,  on  the  discovery  of  Yinland  the  Good,  and  they  said 
that  a  voyage  there  had  great  hope  of  gain.  And  after 
this  Karlsefne  and  Snorre  made  ready  for  going  on  a  voyage 
there,  the  following  spring.  Biarne  and  Thorhall  Gamla- 
son,  before  mentioned,  joined  him  with  a  ship.  There  was 
a  man  named  Thorvard,  who  married  Freydis,  natural 
daughter  of  Eric  Red,  and  he  decided  to  go  with  them,  as 
did  also  Thorvald,  son  2  of  Eric.  And  Thorhall,  commonly 
called  the  Hunter,  who  had  been  the  huntsman  of  Eric  in 
the  summer,  and  his  steward  in  the  winter, .also  went. 
This  Thorhall  was  a  man  of  immense  size  and  of  great 
strength,  and  dark  complexion  and  taciturn,  and  when  he 
spoke,  it  was  always  jestingly.  He  was  always  inclined  to 
give  Leif  evil  advice,  and  was  an  enemy  of*  Christianity. 
He  knew  much  about  desert  lands;  and  was  in  the  same 


1  Widow  of  Thorstein  Ericson.     Rafn  thinks,  as  she  is  mentioned  in  this 
Saga  by  two  names,  Gudrid  and  Thurid,  that  one  was  her  name  in  child 
hood,  and  the  other  in  her  maturer  years,  when  Christianity  came  to  have  a 
practical  bearing.     Her  father's  name  was  Thorbiorn,  derived  from  Thor. 
It  was  supposed  that  those  who  bore  the  names  of  gods  would  find  in 
these  names  a  charm  or  special  protection  from  danger. 

2  This  is  a  mistake,  Eric's  son  was  dead.     It  must  have  been  another 
Thorvald. 


52  PRE-COLUMBIAN  DISCOVERY  OF' 

ship  with  Thorvord  and  Thorvald.  These  used  the  ship 
which  brought  Thorbiorn  from  Iceland.  There  were  in 
all,  forty  men  and  a  hundred.1  They  sailed  to  the  West 
district  [of  Greenland],  and  thence  to  Biarney ; 2  hence  they 
sailed  south  a  night  and  a  clay.  Then  land  was  seen,  and 
they  launched  a  boat  and  explored  the  land ;  they  found 
great  flat  stones,  many  of  which  were  twelve  ells  broad. 
There  were  a  great  number  of  foxes  there.  They  called 
the  land  Helluland.3  Then  they  sailed  a  day  and  a  night 
in  a  southerly  course,  and  came  to  a  land  covered  with 
woods,  in  which  there  were  many  wild  animals.  Beyond 
this  land  to  the  southeast,  lay  an  island  on  which  they  slew 
a  bear.  They  called  the  island  Bear  island,4  and  the  land, 
Markland.  Thence  they  sailed  south  two  days  and  came 
to  a  cape.  The  land  lay  on  the  right  [starboard]  side  of 
the  ship,  and  there  were  long  shores  of  sand.  They  came 
to  land,  and  found  on  the  cape,  the  keel  of  a  ship, 
from  which  they  called  the  place  Kiarlarness,5  and  the 


1  The  Northmen  had  two  ways  of  reckoning  a  hundred,  the  short  and 
the  long.     The  long  hundred  was  a  hundred  and  twenty.     We  read  in 
Tegner's  Frifhiof's  Saga  : 

"  But  a  house  for  itself  was  the  banquet  hall,  fashioned  in  fir  wood  ; 
Not  five  hundred,  though  told  ten  dozen  to  every  hundred, 
Filled  that  chamber  so  vast,  when  they  gathered  for  Yule-tide  carousing." 

American  ed.,  chap,  in,  p.  13. 

Professor  Rafn  infers  that  the  long  hundred  was  here  meant,  because  he 
thinks  that  the  inscription  on  Dighton  Rock  indicates  CLL,  the  number  of 
men  Karlseme  had  with  him,  after  losing  nine. 

2  The  present  island  of  Disco,  also  called  by  the  Northmen,  Biarney,  or 
Bear  island. 

3  The  northern  coast  of  America  was  called  Helluland  the  Great,  and 
Newfoundland,  Helluland,  or  Little  H.ellula,nd..—Antiquitates  Amcnrftmr, 
p.  419. 

4  Supposed  from  the  distance  to  be  the  Isle  of  Sable. 

5Leif  had  left  the  keel  of  his  vessel  here  on  the  point  of  this  cape, 
which  was  Cape  Cod.  In  calling  it  by  this  name,  they  simply  followed  his 
example. 


AMERICA  BY  THE  NORTHMEN.  53 

shores  they  also  called  Wonder-strand,  because  it  seemed 
so  long  sailing  by.  Then  the  land  became  indented  with 
coves,  and  they  ran  the  ship  into  a  bay,1  whither  they 
directed  their  course.  King  Olaf  Tryggvesson  had  given 
Leif  two  Scots,2  a  man  named  Haki  and  a  woman  named 
Hekia;  they  were  swifter  of  foot  than  wild  animals. 
These  were  in  Karlfsefne's  ship.  And  when  they  had 
passed  beyond  Wonder-strand,  they  put  these  Scots  ashore, 
and  told  them  to  run  over  the  land  to  the  southwest, 
three  days,  and  discover  the  nature  of  the  land,  and  then 
return.  They  had  a  kind  of  garment  that  they  called 
kiafal,  that  was  so  made  that  a  hat  was  on  top,  and  it  was 
open  at  the  sides,  and  no  arms;  fastened  between  the  legs 
with  a  button  and  strap,  otherwise  they  were  naked. 
When  they  returned,  one  had  in  his  hand  a  bunch  of 


lrriiis  bay  was  the  bay  then  situated  between  Point  Gilbert  and  Isle 
Nauset,  which  Professor  Agassiz  proves  to  have  existed.  The  writers 
do  not  mention  this  island  in  either  of  the  accounts  of  Thorfinn's  voyage  ; 
but  it  has  been  shown  that  Isle  Nauset  lay  close  to  the  shore,  so  that  they 
would  not  know  that  it  was  an  island  without  particular  examination ;  and 
if  they  were  aware  of  its  existence,  it  was  not  necessary  to  speak  of  it.  Leif 
landed  upon  it,  therefore  it  was  mentioned  by  the  author  who  wrote  the 
account  of  his  voyage.  Yet  Thorfinn's  chroniclers  help  to  prove  its  exist 
ence,  by  showing  that  beyond  Wonder-strand  there  was  a  bay  where  they 
could  safely  ride  at  anchor  for  three  days. 

It  must  be  noticed  that  the  events  are  not  set  down  in  their  exact  order, 
for  after  the  writer  gets  the  vessels  into  the  bay,  he  goes  back  to  speak  of 
the  landing  of  the  Scots.  Gosnold  anchored  in  this  same  place  in  the  night, 
and  in  the  morning  he  remarked  the  number  of  coves,  or  as  he  calls  them 
"  breaches,"  in  the  land.  The  Saga  mentions  the  same  thing,  saying  that 
the  land  "  became  indented  with  coves."  These  coves  have  now-  disappeared, 
yet  the  testimony  of  Gosnold  shows  how  accurately  the  Northmen  observed 
this  part  of  the  coast.  Like  Gosnold,  they  found  it  convenient  and  safe  to 
lie  here  for  a  while. 

2  This  is  the  first  time  we  hear  of  slaves  being  brought  into  Vinland. 
We  have  already  seen  that  with  the  proud  Northman,  slavery  was  a  reality. 
One  of  the  near  relatives  of  Ingolf,  the  first  Northman  who  settled  in 
Iceland,  was  murdered  by  his  Scotch  (Irish)  slaves. 


54  PRE-COLUMBIAN  DISCpVERY  OF 

grapes,  and  the  other  an  ear  of  corn.  They  went  on 
board,  and  afterwards  the  course  was  obstructed  by  another 
bay.1  Beyond  this  bay  was  an  island,2  on  each  side  of 
which  was  a  rapid  current,  that  they  called  the  Isle  of  Cur 
rents.3  There  was  so  great  a  number  of  eider  ducks4  there, 
that  they  could  hardly  step  without  treading  on  their  eggs. 
They  called  this  place  Stream  Bay.5  Here  they  brought 
their  ships  to  land,  arid  prepared  to  stay.  They  had  with 
them  all  kinds  of  cattle.  The  situation  of  the  place 6  was 
pleasant,  but  they  did  not  care  for  anything,  except  to 
explore  the  land.  Here  they  wintered  without  sufficient 
food.  The  next  summer  [A.  D.  1008.]  failing  to  catch 
fish,  they  began  to  want  food.  Then  Thorhall  the  Hunter 
disappeared. 

They  found  Thorhall,  whom  they  sought  three  days,  on 
the  top  of  a  rock,  where  he  lay  breathing,  blowing  through 
his  nose  and  mouth,  and  muttering,  ^hey  asked  why  he 
had  gone  there.  He  replied  that  this  was  nothing  that 
concerned  them.7  They  said  that  he  should  go  home  with 
them,  which  he  did.  Afterwards  a  whale  was  cast  ashore8 
in  that  place;  and  they  assembled  and  cut  it  up,  not 


1  This  was  Nantucket  or  Martha's  Vineyard,  then  probably  united,  form 
ing  one  island. 

a  Nantucket  island,  which  then  was  probably  united  with  Martha's  Vine 
yard. 

3  Straumey,  or  Straum  Isle,  which,  perhaps,  indicates  their  knowledge  of 
the  Gulf  stream. 

4  The  gull,  or  some  similar  bird  is  here  referred  to. 

5  Buzzards  Bay.     The   general  positions  are  fixed  by  the  astronomical 
calculations  from  the  data  given  in  Leif 's  voyage.    'See  note  to  p.  33. 

6  The  shore  opposite  Martha's  Vineyard. 

7  It  would  appear  from  what  follows  that  he  was  engaged  in  a  heathen 
invocation.     This  is  the  only  instance  on  record  of  honor  being  paid  to  this 
heathen  god  on  the  shores  of  New  England,  yet  we  unwittingly  recognize 
him  every  time  we  say  Thursday,  that  is,  Thor's  Day. 

8  In  olden  times  a  certain  portion  of  every  whale  cast  ashore  on  Cape  Cod, 
formed  a  perquisite  of  the  clergy. 


AMERICA  BY  THE  NORTHMEN.  55 

knowing  what  kind  of  a  whale  it  was.  They  boiled  it 
with  water,  and  devoured  it,  and  were  taken  sick.  Then 
Thorhall  said  :  "  Now  you  see  that  Thor 1  is  more  prompt 
to  give  aid  than  your  Christ.  This  was  cast  ashore  as  a 
reward  for  the  hymn  which  I  composed  to  my  patron 
Thor,  who  rarely  forsakes  me."  When  they  knew  this, 
they  cast  all  the  remains  of  the  whale  into  the  sea,  and 
commended  their  affairs  to  God.  After  which  the  air 
became  milder,  and  opportunities  were  given  for  fishing  ; 
and  from  that  time  there  was  an  abundance  of  food;  and 
there  were  beasts  on  the  land,  eggs  in  the  island,  and  fish 
in  the  sea. 

They  say  that  Thorhall  desired  to  go  northward  around 
Wonder-strand  to  explore  Vinland,  but  Karlsefne  wished 
to  go  along  the  shore  south.  Then  Thorhall  prepared 
himself  at  the  island,  but  did  not  have  more  than  nine 
men  in  his  whole  company,  and  all  the  others  went  in  the 
company  of  Karlsefne.  When  Thorhall  was  carrying  water 
to  his  ship,  he  sang  this  verse  : 

''People  said  when  hither  I 
Came,  that  I  the  best 


1  Literally  tlie  Red-beard,  as  Tlior  is  supposed  to  have  had  a  beard  of  that 
color.  The  principal  deity  of  the  Northmen  was  Odin,  a  king  who  died  in 
his  bed  in  Sweden,  and  was  afterwards  apotheosized.  He  was  called  the 
"  Terrible  god."  The  souls  of  men  slain  in  battle  were  received  by  him 
into  the  hall  of  the  gods.  Next  was  Frigga  or  Frey,  his  wife,  considered 
the  goddess  of  earth  and  mother  of  the  gods.  She  finally  fell  into  the 
place  occupied  by  the  classic  Venus.  Next  was  Thor  the  Red-beard,  syn 
onymous  with  Jupiter.  These  three  composed  the  supreme  council  of  the 
gods.  Afterwards  came  the  good  and  gentle  Balder,  the  Northman's 
Christ ;  then  came  Brage,  patron  of  eloquence  and  poetry,  and  his  wife 
Iduna,  charged  with  the  care  of  certain  apples,  with  Heimdal  the  porter  of 
the  gods  and  builder  of  the  rainbow,  and  Loke,  a  kind  of  Satan  or  evil 
principle,  aided  by  his  children,  the  Wolf  Fenris,  the  Serpent  Midgard,  and 
Hela,  or  Death. 


56  PRE-COLUMBIAN  DISCOVERY  OP 

Drink  would  have,  but  the  land 
It  justly  becomes  me  to  blame  ; 
I,  a  warrior,  am  now  obliged 
To  bear  the  pail ; 
Wine  touches  not  my  lips, 
But  I  bow  down  to  the  spring." 

And  when  they  had  made  ready  and  were  about  to  sail, 
Thorhall  sang : 

"Let  us  return 

Thither  where  [our]  country-men  rejoice, 
Let  the  ship  try 
The  smooth  ways  of  the  sea; 
While  the  strong  heroes 
Live  on  Wonder-strand 
And  there  boil  whales 
Which  is  an  honor  to  the  land." 

Afterwards  he  sailed  north  to  £O  around  Wonder-strand 
and  Kiarlarness,  but  when  he  wished  to  sail  westward, 
they  were  met  by  a  storm  from  the  west  and  driven  to 
Ireland,  where  they  were  beaten  and  made  slaves.  And, 
as  merchants  l  reported,  there  Thorhall  died. 

It  is  said  that  Karlsefne,  with  Snorre  and  Biarne  and 
his  comrades,  sailed  along  the  coast  south.  They  sailed 
long  until  they  came  to  a  river  flowing  out  from  the  land 
through  a  lake  into  the  sea,  where  there  were  sandy  shoals, 
where  it  was  impossible  to  pass  up,  except  with  the 
highest  tide.  Karlsefne  sailed  up  to  the  mouth  of  the 
river  with  his  folk,  and  called  the  place  Hop.2  Having 


1  We  shall   see  from  another  part  of  this  work,  that  the  trade  at  that 
period  between  Ireland  and  Iceland,  was  very  large. 

2  This  corresponds  precisely  to  Mount  Hope  bay.     The  Taunton  river  runs 
through  it,  and  thence  flows  to  the  sea  by  Pocasset  river  and  Seaconnet  pas 
sage.     Hop  is  from  the  Icelandic  /  Hopi,  to  recede,  hence  to  form  a  bay. 
The  coincidence  in  the  names  is  striking. 


AMERICA  BY  THE  NORTHMEN.  57 

come  to  the  land,  they  saw  that  where  the  ground  was  low 
corn l  grew,  and  where  it  was  higher,  vines  were  found. 
Every  river  was  full  of  fish. 

They  dug  pits  where  the  land  began, 'and  where  the 
land  was  highest;  and  when  the  tide  went  down,  there 
were  sacred  fish2  in  the  pits.  There  were  a  great  number 
of  all  kinds  of  wild  beasts  in  the  woods.  They  stayed  there 
half  a  month  and  enjoyed  themselves,  and  did  not  notice 
anything;  they  had  their  cattle  with  them.  And  early 
one  morning,  when  they  looked  around,  they  saw  a  great 
many  skin  boats,  and  poles  were  swung  upon  them,  and 
it  sounded  like  reeds  shaken  by  the  wind,  and  they  pointed 
to  the  sun.  Then  said  Karlsefne, "  What  may  this  mean  ?  " 
Snorre  Thorbrandson  replied,  "  It  may  be  that  this  is  a 
sign  of  peace,  so  let  us  take  a  white  shield  and  hold  it 
towards  them."  They  did  so.  Thereupon  they  rowed 
towards  them,  wondering  at  them,  and  came  to  land. 
These  people  were  swarthy  and  fierce,  and  had  bushy  hair 
on  their  heads;  they  had  very  large  eyes  and  broad  cheeks. 
They  stayed  there  for  a  time,  and  gazed  upon  those  they 
met,  and  afterwards  rowed  away  southward  around  the  ness. 

Karlsefne  and  his  people  had  made  their  houses  above 
the  lake,  and  some  of  the  houses  were  near  the  lake,  and 
others  more  distant.  They  wintered  there,  and  there  was 
no  snow,  and  all  their  cattle  fed  themselves  on  the  grass.3 


1  Perhaps  wheat.     /Sialfsana  hveitiakrar. 

2  In  Iceland  the  halibut  is  called  the  sacred  fish.     Pliny  uses  the  same 
name,  which  indicates  that  the  water  is  safe  where  they  were  found.     The 
halibut  and  most  of  the  flat  fish,  such  as  flounders,  are  plentiful  in  that 
vicinity.     The  flounders  are  easily  taken,  and  those  who  know  how,  often 
find  them  in  very  shoal  water,  burrowing  just  under  the  surface  of  the  sand 
like  the  king  crab. 

3  This  is  language  that  might  be  employed  by  an  Icelander,  to  indicate 
the  difference  between  the  new  country  and  his  own.     It  may  have  been 
an  intentional  exaggeration,  similar  to  those  of  Eric  in  describing  Green 
land.     Yet  even  if  it  were  a  serious  attempt  at  history,  it  could  not  bo 

8 


58  PRE-COLUMBIAN  DISCOVERY  OF 

But  when  spring  came  [A.  D.  1009.]  they  saw  one  morn 
ing  early,  that  a  number  of  canoes  rowed  from  the  south 
round  the  ness ;  so  many,  as  if  the  sea  were  sown  with 
coal ;  poles  were  also  swung  on  each  boat.  Karlsefne  and 
his  people  then  raised  up  the  shield,  and  when  they  came 
together  they  began  to  trade;  and  these  people  would 
rather  have  red  cloth ;  for  this  they  offered  skins  and  real 
furs.  They  would  also  buy  swords  and  spears,  but  this, 
Karlsefne  and  Snorre  forbade.  For  a  whole  fur  skin,  the 
Skrsellings  took  a  piece  of  red  cloth,  a  span  long,  and 
bound  it  round  their  heads.  Thus  went  on  their  traffic 
for  a  time;  then  the  cloth  began  to  be  scarce  with  Karl 
sefne  and  his  people,  and  they  cut  it  up  into  small  pieces, 
which  were  not  wider  than  a  finger's  breath,  and  yet  the 
Skrsellings  gave  just  as  much  as  before,  and  more. 

It  happened  that  a  bull,  which  Karlsefne  had,  ran  out  of 
the  wood  and  roared  aloud;  this  frightened  the  Skrsellings, 
and  they  rushed  to  their  canoes  and  rowed  away  toward 
the  south ;  and  after  that  they  were  not  seen  for  three 
whole  weeks.  But  at  the  end  of  that  time,  a  great  number 
of  Skrselling's  ships  were  seen  coming  from  the  south  like 
a  rushing  torrent,  all  the  poles  turned  from  the  sun,  and 
they  all  yelled  very  loud.  Then  Karlsefne's  people  took 
a  red l  shield  and  held  it  towards  them.  The  Skrsellings 
leaped  out  of  their  vessels,  and  after  this,  they  went 
against  each  other  and  fought.  There  was  a  hot  shower 
of  weapons,  because  the  Skrsellings  had  slings.  Karlsefne's 
people  saw  that  they  raised  up  on  a  pole,  a  very  large 
ball,  something  like  a  sheep's  paunch,  and  of  a  blue  color ; 
this  they  swung  from  the  pole  over  Karlsefne's  men,  upon 


regarded  as  farther  from  the  truth,  than  Dr.  Cotton  Mather's  description  of 
the  climate  of  New  England,  where  he  tells  us  that  water  tossed  up  in  the 
air,  came  down  ice ;  and  that  in  one  place  in  Massachusetts,  it  actually 
snowed  wool,  some  of  which,  he  tells  us,  he  preserved  in  a  box  in  his  study. 
1  The  red  shield  was  the  sign  of  war,  and  the  white,  of  peace. 


AMERICA  BY  THE  NORTHMEN.  59 

the  ground,  and  it  made  a  great  noise  as  it  fell  down.1 
This  caused  great  fear  with  Karlsefne  and  his  men,  so  that 
they  only  thought  of  running  away,  and  they  retreated 
along  the  river,  for  it  seemed  to  them  that  the  Skrsellings 
pressed  them  on  all  sides ;  they  did  not  stop  until  they 
came  to  some  rocks,  where  they  made  a  bold  stand.  Frey- 
dis  came  out  and  saw  that  Karlsefne's  people  fell  back,  and 
she  cried  out,  "  Why  do  you  run,  strong  men  as  you  are, 
before  these  miserable  creatures,  whom  I  thought  you 
would  knock  down  like  cattle?  And  if  I  had  arms, 
methinks  I  could  fight  better  than  any  of  you.5'  They 
gave  no  heed  to  their  words.  Freydis  would  go  with  them, 
but  she  was  slower,  because  she  was  pregnant;  still  she 
followed  after  them  into  the  woods.  She  found  a  dead 
man  in  the  woods ;  it  was  Thorbrand  Snorreson,  and  there 
stood  a  flat  stone  stuck  in  his  head ;  the  sword  lay 
naked  by  his  side.  This  she  took  up,  and  made  ready  to 
defend  herself.  Then  came  the  Sknellings  toward  her; 
she  drew  out  her  breasts  from  under  her  clothes,  and 
dashed  them  against  the  naked  sword ; 2  by  this  the  Skrsel- 
liugs  became  frightened  and  ran  off  to  their  ships,  and 
rowed  away.  Karlsefne  and  his  men  then  came  up  and 
praised  her  courage.  Two  men  fell  on  Karlsefne's  side, 
but  a  number  of  the  Skrsellings.  Karlsefne's  band  was  over 
matched.  And  now  they  went  home  to  their  dwellings 
and  bound  up  their  wounds  ;  and  considered  what  crowd 
that  was  that  pressed  upon  them  from  the  land  side,  and 
it  now  seemed  to  them  that  it  could  have  hardly  been  real 
people  from  the  ships,  but  that  these  must  have  been 


1  Tliis  account  can  hardly  be  explained.     These  people,  doubtless,  had 
their  own  ideas  of  the  best  method  of  conducting  a  fight.     They  were  evi 
dently  Esquimaux,  and  formerly,  according  to  Crantz,  appear  to  have  lived 
on  this  coast  before  it  was  occupied  by  the  Indians,  who,  being  a  superior 
race,  soon  drove  them  away. 

2  This  appears  childish,  yet  there  is  nothing  to  indicate  that  it  was  not  so. 


60  PRE-COLUMBIAN  DISCOVERY  OF 

optical  illusions.  The  Skrsellings  also  found  a  dead  man, 
and  an  axe  lay  by  him;  one  of  them  took  up  the  axe  and 
cut  wood  with  it ;  and  then  one  after  another  did  the  same, 
and  thought  it  was  a  fine  thing  and  cut  well.  After  that, 
one  took  it  and  cut  at  a  stone,  so  that  the  axe  broke,  and 
then  they  thought  that  it  was  of  no  use,  because  it  would 
not  cut  stone,  and  they  cast  it  away. 

Karlsefne  and  his  people  now  thought  that  they  saw, 
although  the  land  had  many  good  qualities,  that  they  still 
would  always  be  exposed  there  to  the  fear  of  attacks  from 
the  original  dwellers.1  They  decided,  therefore,  to  go 
away,  and  to  return  to  their  own  land.  They  coasted 
northward  along  the  shore,2  and  found  five  Skrsellings  clad 
in  skins,  sleeping  near  the  sea.  They  had  with  them 
vessels  containing  animal  marrow,  mixed  with  blood.3 
Karlsefne's  people  thought  that  these  men  had  been  banished 
from  the  land ;  they  killed  them.  After  that  they  came 
to  a  ness,  and  many  wild  beasts  were  there,  and  the  ness 
was  covered  all  over  with  dung,  from  the  beasts  which  had 
lain  there  during  the  night.  Now  they  came  back  to 
Straumfiord,  and  there  was  a  plenty  of  everything  that 
they  wanted  to  have.  [It  is  thus  that  some  men  say,  that 
Biarne  and  Gudrid  stayed  behind,  and  one  hundred  men 
with  them,  and  did  not  go  farther ;  but  that  Karlsefne  and 
Snorre  went  southward,  and  forty  men  with  them,  and 
were  not  longer  in  Hop  than  barely  two  months,  and  the 
same  summer  came  back.]4  Karlsefne  then  went  with  one 


1  Thorium's  experience  was  similar  to  that  of  most  early  colonists  in 
America. 

2  This,  very  likely,  was  a  short  exploration  up  Narragansett  bay. 

3  The  ancient  Mexicans  mixed  human  blood  with  bread  offered  on  the 
altar  of  their  deities. 

4  The  lines  inclosed  in  brackets,  convey  what  the  writer  understood  to  be 
a  mere  rumor.     This  report  was  evidently  untrue,  yet  it  shows  his  honest 
intentions. 


AMERICA  BY  THE  NORTHMEN.  61 

ship  to  seek  Thorhall  the  Hunter,  but  the  rest  remained 
behind,  and  they  sailed  northward  past  Kiarlarness,  and 
thence  westward,  and  the  land  was  upon  their  larboard 
hand.  There  were  wild  woods  over  all,  as  far  as  they 
could  see,  and  scarcely  any  open  places.  And  when  they 
had  sailed  long  a  river  ran  out  of  the  land  from  east 
to  west.  They  sailed  into  the  mouth  of  the  river,  and  lay 
by  its  banks.1 


It  chanced  one  morning  that  Karlsefne  and  his  people 
saw  opposite  in  an  open  place  in  the  woods,  a  speck  which 
glittered  in  their  sight,  and  they  called  out  towards  it,  and 
it  was  a  Uniped,2  which  thereupon  hurried  down  to  the 


1  They  appear  to  have  sailed  around  Cape  Cod,  then  steered  across  to 
Plymouth,  coasted  up  the  shore  towards  Point    Alderton,    and  entered 
Scituate  harbor,  or  some  other  river  mouth  on  that  coast. 

2  Einfoetingr,  from  ein,  one,  and  fotr,  foot.     This  term  appears  to  have 
been  given  by  some  old  writers,  to  one  of  the  African  tribes,  on  account  of  a 
peculiarity  of  dress,  which  Wormskiold  describes   as  a  triangular  cloth, 
hanging  down  so  low,  both  before  and  behind,  that  the  feet  were  concealed. 
In  an  old  work  called  RimUgla,  a  tribe  of  this  class,  dwelling  in  Blaland, 
Ethiopia,  are  thus  described. — Beamish' s  Northmen,  p.  101.     We  do  not 
say  how  far  the  Saga  writer  employs  his  fancy  on  the  Uniped,  yet  he  is 
quite  excusable,  considering  the  weakness  of  modern   writers.     In  1634, 
Hans  Egede  wrote  as  follows  about  a  hideous  monster :  "  July  6th,   a 
most  hideous  sea  monster  was  seen,  which  reared  itself  so  high  above  the 

water,  that  its  head  overtopped  our  mainsail Instead  of  fins,  it  had 

broad  flaps  like  wings ;  its  body  seemed  to  be  overgrown  like  shell  work 

It  was  shaped  like  a  serpent  behind,  and  when  it  dived,  .  .  .  raised  its  tail 
above  the  water,  a  whole  ship's  length." — Egede's  Greenland,  p.  85  ;  Crantz's 
Greenland,  vol.  in,  p.  116.    Hudson  even  describes  a  mermaid. 

The  Rev.  Dr.  Cotton  Mather,  who  has  before  been  quoted,  gives  among 
other  notable  facts  in  his  Magnolia,  the  statement,  that  in  June,  1682,  Mary 
Hortado,  of  Salmon  Falls,  was  going  with  her  husband  "  over  the  river  in  her 
canoe,  when  they  saw  the  head  of  a  man,  and  about  three  foot  off,  the  tail  of 
a  cat,  swimming  before  the  canoe,  but  no  body  to  join  them A  stone 


62  PRE-COLUMBIAN  DISCOVERY  OF 

bank  of  the  river,  where  they  lay.  Thorvald  Ericson 
stood  at  the  helm,  and  the  Uniped  shot  an  arrow  into  his 
bowels.  Thorvald  drew  out  the  arrow  and  said1:  "  It  has 
killed  me !  To  a  rich  land  we  have  come,  but  hardly  shall 
we  enjoy  any  benefit  from  it."  Thorvald  soon  after  died  l 
of  his  wound.  Upon  this  the  Uniped  ran  away  to  the 
northward;  Karlsefne  and  his  people  went  after  him,  and 
saw  him  now  and  then,  and  the  last  time  they  saw  him,  he 
ran  out  into  a  bay.  Then  they  turned  back,  and  a  man 
sang  these  verses  : 

The  people  chased 
A  uniped 

Down  to  the  beach. 
Behold  he  ran 
Straight  over  the  sea  — 
Hear  thou,  Thorfinn  ! 

They  drew  off  to  the  northward,  and  saw  the  country  of 
the  Unipeds ;  they  would  not  then  expose  their  men  any 
longer.  They  looked  upon  the  mountain  range  that  was 
at  Hop,  and  that  which  they  now  found,2  as  all  one,  and  it 
also  appeared  to  be  of  equal  length  from  Straumfiord  to 
both  places.  The  third  winter  they  were  in  Straumfiord. 
They  now  became  much  divided  by  party  feeling,  and  the 
women  were  the  cause  of  it,  for  those  who  were  unmarried 
would  injure  those  who  were  married,  and  hence  arose 
great  disturbance.  There  was  born  the  first  autumn, 
Snorre,  Karlsefne's  son,  and  he  was  three  years  old  when 
they  went  away.  When  they  sailed  from  Vinland  they 


thrown  by  an  invisible  hand  after  this,  caus'd  a  swelling  and  a  soreness  in 
her  head ;  and  she  was  bitten  on  both  arms  black  and  blue,  and  her  breast 
scratched.  The  impression  of  the  teeth,  which  were  like  a  man's  teeth, 
were  seen  by  many." — Magnolia,  vol.  I,  p.  454. 

1  See  p.  41.     This  may  be  a  wrong  version  of  the  death  of  the  son  of  Eric. 

2  The  Blue  Hills,  which  extend  to  Mount  Hope. 


AMERICA  BY  THE  NORTHMEN.  63 

had  a  south  wind,  and  then  came  to  Markland,  and  found 
there,  five  Skrsellings,  and  one  was  bearded;  two  were 
females,  and  two  boys ;  they  took  the  boys,  but  the  others 
escaped,  and  the  Skrsellings  sank  down  in  the  ground.1 
These  boys  they  took  with  them ;  they  taught  them  the 
language,  and  they  were  baptized.  They  called  their 
mother  Vathelldi,  and  their  father,  Uvsege.  They  said 
that  two  kings  ruled  over  the  Skrsellings,  and  that  one  was 
named  Avalldania,  but  the  other  Valldidia.  They  said 
that  no  houses  were  there  ;  people  lay  in  caves  or  in  holes. 
They  said  there  was  a  land  on  the  other  side,  just  opposite 
their  country,  where  people  lived  who  wore  white  clothes, 
and  carried  poles  before  them,  and  to  these  were  fastened 
flags,  and  they  shouted  loud ;  and  the  people  think  that 
this  was  White-man's  land,  or  Great  Ireland.2 


Biarne  Grimolfson  was  driven  with  his  ship  into  the 
Irish  ocean,  and  they  came  into  a  worm  sea,3  and  soon 
the  ship  began  to  sink  under  them.  They  had  a  boat 
which  was  smeared  with  sea  oil,  for  the  worms  do  not 
attack  that.  They  went  into  the  boat,  and  then  saw  that 
it  could  not  hold  them  all.  Then  said  Biarne:  "As  the 
boat  will  not  hold  more  than  half  of  our  men,  it  is  my 
counsel  that  lots  should  be  drawn  for  those  to  go  in  the 
boat,  for  it  shall  not  be  according  to  rank."  This,  they 
all  thought  so  generous  an  offer,  that  no  one  would  oppose 
it.  They  then  did  so  that  lots  were  drawn,  and  it  fell  to 
Biarne  to  go  in  the  boat,  and  the  half  of  the  men  with  him, 


1  That  is,  they  fled  into  their  abodes. 

2  The  location  of  this  place  will  lie  discussed  in  the  Minor  Narratives. 

3  This  was  the  teredo,  which  is  often  so  destructive,  and  which  caused 
Columbus  to  abandon  a  ship  at  Puerto  Bello,  because  he  could  not  keep  her 
afloat.     See  Irving's  Columbus,  p.  287. 


64  PRE-COLUMBIAN  DISCOVERY  OF 

for  the  boat  had  not  room  for  more.  But  when  they  had 
gotten  into  the  boat,  an  Icelandic  man  that  was  in  the 
ship,  and  had  come  with  Biarne  from  Iceland,  said:  "  Dost 
thou  mean,  Biarne,  to  leave  me  here  ? "  Biarne  said :  "  So 
it  seems."  Then  said  the  other:  "  Very  different  was  the 
promise  to  my  father,  when  I  went  with  thee  from  Iceland, 
than  thus  to  leave  me,  for  thou  said  that  we  should  both 
share  the  same  fate."  Biarne  said,  "  It  shall  not  be  thus  ; 
go  down  into  the  boat,  and  I  will  go  up  into  the  ship,  since 
I  see  that  thou  art  so  anxious  to  live." l  Then  Biarne 
went  up  into  the  ship,  and  this  man  down  into  the  boat,  and 
after  that  they  went  on  their  voyage,  until  they  came  to 
Dublin,  in  Ireland,  and  there  told  these  things ;  but  it  is 
most  people's  belief  that  Biarne  and  his  companions  were 
lost  in  the  worm  sea,  for  nothing  was  heard  of  them  after 
that  time. 


THE  ACCOUNT  OF  THORFINN. 

That  same  winter  [A.  D.  1006-7.]  there  was  much  dis 
cussion  about  the  affairs  of  Brattahlid ;  and  they  set  up  the 
game  of  chess,  and  sought  amusement  in  the  reciting  of 
history,2  and  in  many  other  things,  and  were  able  to  pass 
life  joyfully.  And  Karlsefne  and  Snorre  resolved  to  seek 
Yinland,  but  there  was  much  discussion  about  it.  But  it 
turned  out  that  Karlsefne  and  Snorre  prepared  their  ships 
to  seek  Vinland  the  following  summer.  [A.  D.  1007.] 
And  in  this  enterprise  Biarne  and  Thorhall  joined  as  com 
rades  with  their  own  ship  and  crew,  who  were  their 
followers.  There  was  a  man  named  Thorvald,  a  relation 3 


1  This  was  truly  in  accordance  with  the  noble  spirit  of  the  great  Northmen, 
who  had  no  fear  of  death,  which  to  heroes,  is  the  shining  gate  of  Val 
halla. 

2  This  is  one  evidence  that  history  was  cultivated  in  Greenland. 

3  Here  the  writer  is  correct.     See  note  2,  p.  51. 


AMERICA  BY  THE  NORTHMEN.  65 

of  Eric.  Thorhall  was  called  the  Hunter;  he  long  had 
hunted  with  Eric  in  summer,  and  had  the  care  of  many 
things.  Thorhall  was  of  great  stature,  large  and  swarthy 
face,  of  a  hard  nature,  taciturn,  saying  little  of  affairs,  and 
nevertheless  crafty  and  malicious,  always  inclined  to  evil, 
and  opposed  in  his  mind  to  the  Christian  religion,  from  its 
first  introduction  into  Greenland.  Thorhall  indulged  in 
trifling,  but  nevertheless  Eric  was  used  to  his  familiarity. 
He  went  in  the  ship  with  Thorvald,  and  was  well  ac 
quainted  with  uninhabitable  places.  He  used  the  ship  in 
which  Thorbiorn  came ;  and  Karlsefne  engaged  comrades 
for  the  expedition;  and  the  best  part  of  the  sailors  of 
Greenland  were  with  him.  They  carried  in  their  ships, 
forty  and  a  hundred  men.  Afterwards  they  sailed  to  West 
bygd  and  Biarney-isle.  They  sailed  from  Biarney-isle 
with  a  north  wind,  and  were  on  the  sea  day  and  night, 
when  they  found  land,  and  sending  a  boat  to  the  shore, 
explored  the  land,  where  they  found  many  flat  stones  of 
such  great  size,  that  they  exceeded  in  length  the  size  of 
two  men.  There  were  foxes  there.  And  they  gave  the 
land  a  name,  and  called  it  Helluland.  After  this,  they 
sailed  a  night  and  a  day  with  a  north  wind.  They  carne 
to  a  land  in  which  were  great  woods  and  many  animals. 
Southwest,  opposite  the  land,  lay  an  island.  Here  they 
found  a  bear,  and  called  the  island,  Bear  island.  This 
land,  where  there  were  woods,  they  called  Markland. 
After  a  voyage  of  a  day  and  a  night,  they  saw  land,  and 
they  sailed  near  the  land  and  saw  that  it  was  a  cape ;  they 
kept  close  to  the  shore  with  the  wind  on  the  starboard  side, 
and  left  the  land  upon  the  right  side  of  the  ship.  There 
were  places  without  harbors,  long  shores  and  sands.  When 
they  went  to  the  shore  with  a  boat,  they  found  the  keel  of 
a  ship,  and  they  called  the  place,  Kiarlarness ; l  and  they 


1  See  page  52. 


66  PRE-COLUMBIAN  DISCOVERY  OF 

gave  the  shore  a  name,  and  called  it  Wonder-strand, 
because  they  were  so  long  going  by.  Then  another  bay 
extended  into  the  land,  and  they  steered  into  the  bay.1 
When  Leif  was  with  King  Olaf  Tryggvesson,  he  sent  him 
to  establish  the  Christian  religion  in  Greenland ;  then  the 
king  gave  him  two  Scots-folk,  a  man  named  Hake,  and  a 
woman  named  Hekia.  The  king  told  Leif  to  take  them 
with  his  men,  if  he  would  have  his  commands  done  quickly, 
as  they  were  swifter  than  beasts.  These  folk,  Leif  and 
Eric  gave  to  Karlsefne,  as  followers.  When  they  were 
come  opposite  Wonder-strand,  they  put  the  Scots  on  the 
shore,  and  told  them  to  run  southward  and  explore  the 
country,  and  return  before  the  end  of  three  days.  They 
were  thus  clothed,  having  a  garment  called  a  Biafal ; 2  it 
was  made  so  that  a  hat  was  on  top,  open  at  the  sides, 
without  arms,  buttoned  between  the  legs,  and  fastened 
with  a  button  and  strap ;  and  the  rest  was  bare. 

They  came  to  anchor  and  lay  by,  until  the  three  days 
passed,  when  they  returned,  one  having  in  his  hand  a  vine, 
and  the  other,  self-sown  wheat.  Karlsefne  said  that  they 
had  found  a  fruitful  land.  Afterwards  they  were  received 
into  the  ship,  and  they  went  on  their  way  until  a  bay 
intersected  the  land.  They  steered  the  ship  into  the  bay. 
On  the  outside  was  an  island,  and  there  was  a  great  tide 
around  the  island.  This  they  called,  Straumey.3  There 
was  a  great  number  of  birds,  and  it  was  scarcely  pos 
sible  to  find  a  place  for  their  feet  among  the  eggs.  Then 


1  The  same  bay  referred  to  in  the  previous  account,  and  which  lay  between 
Point  Gilbert  and  Isle  Nauset.     Archer,  in  his  account  of  Gosnold's  voyage, 
says,  that  when  they  rounded  Point  Care,  the  extremity  of  Isle  Nauset, 
"  We  bore  up  again  with  the  land,  and  in  the  night,  came  with  it  anchor 
ing  in  eight  fathoms,  the  ground  good."     Here  it  will  be  seen  that  the 
Northmen  lay  safely  for  three  days. 

2  In  the  first  account  it  is  called  a  Kiafal. 

3  The  agreement  with  the  first  account  is  substantial. 


AMERICA  BY  THE  NORTHMEN.  67 

they  steered  into  a  long  bay  which  they  called  Straum- 
fiord,  where  they  landed  from  their  ships  and  began  to 
prepare  habitations.  They  brought  with  them  all  kinds 
of  cattle,  and  they  found  sufficient  pasturage.  There  were 
mountains,  and  the  prospect  was  pleasant.  But  they 
cared  for  nothing,  except  to  explore  the  land ;  there  was 
a  great  abundance  of  grass.  Here  they  wintered,  and  the 
winter  was  severe,  and  they  did  not  have  stores  laid  up, 
they  began  to  be  in  want  of  food,  and  failed  to  catch  fish. 
So  they  sailed  over  to  the  island,1  hoping  that  they  might 
find  means  of  subsistence,  either  on  what  they  could  catch, 
or  what  wras  cast  ashore.  But  they  found  but  little  better 
fare,  though  the  cattle  were  better  off.  [A.  D.  1008.] 
Afterwards  they  prayed  to  God,  to  send  them  food ;  which 
prayer  was  not  answered  as  soon  as  desired.  Then  Thor- 
hall  disappeared,  and  a  search  was  made,  which  lasted 
three  days.  On  the  morning  of  the  fourth  day,  Karlsefne 
and  Biarne  found  him  lying  on  the  top  of  a  rock;  there  he 
lay  stretched  out,  with  open  eyes,  blowing  through  his 
mouth,  and  muttering  to  himself.  They  asked  him  why 
he  had  gone  there.  He  replied  that  it  did  n-ot  concern 
them  and  not  to  wonder,  as  he  was  old  enough  to  take  care 
of  himself,  without  their  troubling  themselves  with  his 
affairs.  They  asked  him  to  go  home  with  them ;  this  he 
did.  After  that  a  wrhale  was  cast  up,  and  they  ran  down 
to  cut  it  up ;  nevertheless  they  did  not  know  what  kind  it 
was.  Neither  did  Karlsefne,  though  acquainted  with 
whales,  know  this  one.  Then  the  cooks  dressed  the 
whale,  and  they  all  ate  of  it,  and  it  made  them  all  sick. 
Then  Thorhali  said,  "  It  is  clear  now  that  the  Red-beard 
is  more  prompt  to  give  aid  than  your  Christ.  This  food 
is  a  reward  for  a  hymn  which  I  made  to  my  god  Thor, 
who  has  seldom  deserted  me."  When  they  heard  this, 


1  This  was  probably  Martha's  Vineyard. 


68  'PRE-COLUMBIAN  DISCOVERY  OF 

none  would  eat  any  more,  and  threw  what  was  left  from 
the  rock,  committing  themselves  to  God.  After  this  the 
opportunity  was  given  of  going  after  fish,  and  there  was 
no  lack  of  food.  They  sailed  into  Straumfiord,  and  had 
abundance  of  food  and  hunting  on  the  mainland,  with 
many  eggs,  and  fish  from  the  sea. 

And  now  they  began  to  consider  where  they  should 
settle  next.  Thorhall  the  Hunter  wished  to  go  northward 
around  Wonder-strand  and  Kiarlarness  to  explore  Vin- 
land,  but  Karlsefne  wished  to  go  southwest,  thinking 
likely  that  there  would  be  larger  tracts  of  country  the 
further  they  went  south.  Thorhall  made  ready  at  the 
island,  and  only  nine  men  went  with  him,  all  the  rest  of 
the  ship- folk  went- with  Karlsefne.  One  day  Thorhall  was 
carrying  water  to  his  ship;  he  drank  it  and  sang  this  verse  : 

"  People  promised  me  when  hither  I 
Came,  then  the  best  drink 
I  should  have;  but  the  country 
I  must  denounce  to  all ; 
Here  you  are  forced  by  hand 
To  bear  the  pail  to  the  water, 
I  must  bend  me  down  to  the  spring ; 
Wine  did  not  come  to  my  lips/' 

Afterwards  they  left  the  land,  and  Karlsefne  went  with 
them  to  the  island.  Before  they  hoisted  sail,  Thorhall 
sang  these  verses : 

"  Let  us  return 
Home  to  our  countrymen, 
Let  the  vessel  try 
The  broad  path  of  the  sea; 
While  the  persevering 
Men,  who  praise  the  land 
Are  building,  and  boil  the  wliales 
Here  on  Wonder-strand." 


AMERICA  BY  THE  NORTHMEN.  59 

Thereupon  they  sailed  northward  around  Wonder-strand 
and  Kialarness.  But  when  they  wished  to  cruise  west 
ward,  a  storm  came  against  them,  and  drove  them  to 
Ireland,  where  they  were  beaten  and  made  slaves.  There 
Thorhall  passed  his  life.1 

Karlsefne,  with  Snorre  and  Biarne  and  the  rest  of  his 
comrades,  sailed  south.  They  sailed  long  until  they  came 
to  a  river,  which  flowed  from  the  land  through  a  lake,  and 
passed  into  the  sea.  Before  the  mouth  of  the  river  were 
great  islands,  and  they  were  not  able  to  enter  the  river 
except  at  the  highest  tide.2  Karlsefne  sailed  into  the  mouth 
of  the  river,  and  called  the  land  Hop.  There  they  found 
fields,  where  the  land  was  low,  with  wild  corn,  and  where 
the  land  was  high,  were  vines.  And  every  river  was  full 
offish.  They  made  pits  in  the  sand,  where  the  tide  rose 
highest,  and  at  low  tide,  sacred  fish  were  found  in  these 
pits,  and  in  the  woods  was  a  great  number  of  all  kinds  of 
beasts.  Here  they  stayed  half  a  month,  enjoying  them 
selves,  but  observing  nothing  new.  Early  one  morning, 
on  looking  around,  they  saw  nine  skin  boats,  in  which 
were  poles  that,  vibrating  towards  the  sun,  gave  out  a 
sound  like  reeds  shaken  by  the  wind.  Then  Karlsefne 
said :  "  What,  think  you,  does  this  mean  ?  "  Snorre  said  : 
"  It  is  possible  that  it  is  a  sign  of  peace ;  let  us  raise  up 
a  white  shield  and  hold  it  towards  them  :  "  this  they  did. 
Then  they  rowed  towards  them,  wondering  at  them,  and 
came  to  land.  These  men  were  small  of  stature  and  fierce, 
having  a  bushy  head  of  hair,  and  very  great  eyes  and  wide 
cheeks.  They  remained  some  time  wondering  at  them, 
and  afterwards  rowed  southward  around  the  cape.  They 


1  The  first  narrative  says  substantially  the  same  thing,  that  Thorhall 
died  in  Ireland. 

2  The  first  narrative  speaks  of  the  shoals.     The  islands  and  shoals  both 
doubtless  existed  then.     Since  that  time  great  changes  have  taken  place 
in  the  physical  aspects  of  that  region. 


70  PRE-COLUMBIAN  DISCOVERY  OF 

built  dwellings  beyond  the  lake,  others  made  houses  near 
the  mainland,  and  others  near  the  lake.  Here  they  spent 
the  winter.  No  snow  fell,1  and  all  their  cattle  fed  under 
the  open  sky.  They  decided  to  explore  all  the  mountains 2 
that  were  in  Hop ;  which  done,  they  [A.  D.  1009.]  went  and 
passed  the  third  winter  in  Straum  bay.  At  this  time  they 
had  much  contention  among  themselves,  and  the  unmarried 
women  vexed  the  married.  The  first  autumn,  Snorre, 
Karlsefne's  son,  was  born,  and  he  [was  three  years  old] 
when  they  went  away.  They  had  a  south  wind,  and  came 
to  Markland,  and  found  five  Skrsellings,  of  whom  one 
was  a  man,  and  two  women,  and  two  were  boys.  Karl- 
sefne  took  the  boys,  and  the  others  escaped  and  sank  down 
into  the  earth.  They  carried  the  boys  away  with  them, 
and  taught  them  the  language,  and  they  were  baptized. 
And  the  name  of  their  mother  was  Yatheldi,  and  their 
father,  Uveege.  They  said  that  two  kings  ruled  over  the 
Skreellinger's  land,  one  was  named  Avalldania,  and  the 
other,  Valldidia;  that  they  had  no  houses,  but  lived  in 
dens  and  caves.  In  another  part  of  the  country,  there  was 
a  region  where  the  people  wore  white  clothes,  and  shouted 
loud,  and  carried  poles  with  flags.  This  they  thought  to 
be  White-man's  land.  After  this  they  came  into  Green 
land,  and  passed  the  winter  with  Leif,  son  of  Eric  Red. 
Biarne  Grirnolfsonwas  carried  out  into  the  Greenland 3  sea, 
and  came  into  a  worm  sea,  which  they  did  not  observe, 
until  their  ship  was  full  of  worm  holes.  They  considered 
what  should  be  done.  They  had  a  stern  boat,  smeared 
with  oil ;  they  say  that  wood  covered  with  oil,  the  worms 
will  not  bore.  The  result  of  the  council  was,  that  as  many 
should  go  into  the  boat  as  it  would  hold.  It  then  appeared 


1  This  might  have  been  the  case  on  some  remarkable  season. 

2  This  range  extends  to  the  Blue  Hills  of  Massachusetts,  which  indicates 
considerable  activity  in  exploration. 

3  Also  called  the  Irish  sea,  and  the  sea  before  Vinland. 


AMERICA  BY  THE  NORTHMEN.  71 

that  the  boat  would  not  hold  more  than  one-half  of  the 
men.  Then  Biarne  ordered  that  the  men  should  go  in 
the  boat  by  lot,  and  not  according  to  rank.  And  as 
it  would  not  hold  all,  they  accepted  the  proposition,  and 
when  the  lots  were  drawn,  the  men  went  out  of  the  ship 
into  the  boat.  And  the  lot  was  that  Biarne  should  go 
down  from  the  ship  to  the  boat  with  one-half  of  the  men. 
Then  those  to  whom  the  lot  fell,  went  down  from  the 
ship  to  the  boat.  And  when  they  had  come  into  the  boat, 
a  young  Icelander,  who  was  the  companion  of  Biarne, 
said :  "  Now  thus  do  you  intend  to  leave  me,  Biarne  ?  " 
Biarne  replied,  "That  now  seems  necessary."  He  replied 
with  these  words :  "  Thou  art  not  true  to  the  promise 
made  when  I  left  my  father's  house  in  Iceland."  Biarne 
replied  :  "  In  this  thing  I  do  not  see  any  other  way;  "  con 
tinuing,  "What  course  can  you  suggest?"  He  said,  "I 
see  this,  that  we  change  places  and  thou  come  up  here 
and  I  go  there."  Biarne  replied :  "Let  it  be  so,  since  I 
see  that  you  are  so  anxious  to  live,  and  are  frightened  by 
the  prospect  of  death."  Then  they  changed  places,  and 
he  descended  into  the  boat  with  the  men,  and  Biarne  went 
up  into  the  ship.  And  it  is  related  that  Biarne,  and  the 
sailors  with  him  in  the  ship,  perished  in  the  worm  sea. 
Those  who  went  in  the  boat,  went  on  their  course  until 
they  came  to  land,  where  they  told  all  these  things. 

After  the  next  summer,  Karlsefne  went  to  Iceland  with 
his  son  Snorre,  and  he  went  to  his  own  home  at  Reikia- 
ness.  The  daughter  of  Snorre,  son  of  Karlsefne,  was 
Hallfrida,  mother  to  Bishop  Thorlak  Runolfson.  They 
had  a  son  named  Thorbiorn,  whose  daughter  was  named 
Thoruna,  mother  of  Bishop  Biarne.  Thorgeir  was  the 
name  of  the  other  son  of  Snorre  Karlsefne's  son,  father  to 
Ingveld,  and  mother  of  the  first  bishop  of  Brand.  And 
this  is  the  end  of  the  history. 


72  PRE-COLUMBIAN  DISCOVERY  OF 

THIRD  NARRATIVE. 

That  same  summer  came  a  ship  from  Norway  to  Green 
land.  The  man  was  called  Thorfinn  Karlsefne,  who  steered 
the  ship.  He  was  a  son  of  Thord  Hesthofde,  a  son  of 
Snorre  Thordarson,  from  Hofda.  Thorfinn  Karlsefne  was 
a  man  of  great  wealth,  and  was  in  Brattahlid  with  Leif 
Ericsson.  Soon  he  fell  in  love  with  Gudrid,  and  courted 
her,  and  she  referred  to  Leif  to  answer  for  her.  Afterwards 
she  was  betrothed  to  him,  and  their  wedding  was  held 
the  same  winter.  At  this  time,  as  before,  much  was  spoken 
about  a  Yinland  voyage;  and  both  Gudrid  and  others 
persuaded  Karlsefne  much  to  that  expedition.  Now  this 
expedition  was  resolved  upon,  and  they  got  ready  a  crew 
of  sixty  men,  and  five  women;1  and  then  they  made  the 
agreement,  Karlsefne  and  his  people,  that  each  of  them 
should  have  equal  share  in  what  they  made  of  gain.  They 
had  with  them  all  kinds  of  cattle,2  having  the  intention 
to  settle  in  the  land,  if  they  could.  Karlsefne  asked  Leif 
for  his  houses  in  Vinland,  but  he  said  he  would  lend  them, 
but  not  give  them.  Then  they  put  to  sea  with  the  ship, 
and  came  to  Leif 's  houses 3  safe,  and  carried  up  their  goods, 
They  soon  had  in  hand  a  great  and  good  prize,  for  a 


1  There  were  three  ships  in  the  expedition,  and  this  was  doubtless  the 
company  that  went  in  one  of  them. 

2  These  could  be  easily  carried,  especially  as  their  cattle  were  small.     All 
the  early  Portuguese  expeditions  carried  their  live  stock  with  them.     See 
Prince  Henry  the  Navigator. 

3  The  different  events  are  here  stated  with  some  rapidity,  and  we  seem  to 
reach  Leif  s  booths  or  huts  sooner  than  necessary.     According  to  the  two 
previous  accounts,  they  did  not  reach  the  locality  of  Leif 's  booths  until  the 
summer  after  they  found  the  whale.     These  booths  were  at  Mt.  Hope  Bay. 
This  is  either  the  result  of  confusion  in  the  mind  of  the  writer,  or  else  it  is 
founded  on  the  fact  that  Leif  erected  habitations  at  'both  places.     In  the 
two  first  accounts  of  Thorfinn  Karlsefne's  expedition,  they  are  not  alluded 
to.     There  may  be  no  real  contradiction  after  all. 


AMERICA  BY  THE  NORTHMEN.  73 

whale  had  been  driven  on  shore,  both  large  and  excellent.1 
They  went  to  it  and  cut  it  up,  and  had  no  want  of  food. 
Their  cattle  went  up  into  the  land  ;  but  soon  they  were 
unruly,  and  gave  trouble  to  them,  They  had  one  bull 
with  them.  Karlsefne  let  wood  be  felled  and  hewed  for 
shipping  it,  and  had  it  laid  on  a  rock  to  dry.  They  had 
all  the  good  of  the  products  of  the  land,  which  were  these : 
both  grapes  and  wood,  and  other  products.  After  that 
first  winter,  and  when  summer  came,  [A.  D.  1008.]  they 
were  aware  of  Skrsellings  being  there ;  and  a  great  troop  of 
men  came  out  of  the  woods.  The  cattle  were  near  to  them, 
and  the  bull  began  to  bellow  and  roar  very  loud,  and  with 
that  the  Skrsellings  were  frightened,  and  made  off  with 
their  bundles  —  and  these  were  of  furs  and. sables  and  all 
sorts  of  skins ;  and  they  turned  and  wanted  to  go  into  the 
houses,  but  Karlsefne  defended  the  doors.  Neither  party 
understood  the  language  of  the  other.  Then  the  Skrsellings 
took  their  bundles  and  opened  them,  and  wanted  to  have 
weapons  in  exchange  for  them,  but  Karlsefne  forbade  his 
men  to  sell  weapons.  Then  he  adopted  this  plan  with  them, 
that  he  told  the  Women  to  bear  out  milk  and  dairy  products 
to  them ;  and  when  they  saw  these  things,  they  would  buy 
them  and  nothing  else.  And  now  the  trade  for  the 


1  The  other  accounts  say  that  the  whale  made  them  sick  ;  but  that  was 
not  because  the  flesh  of  the  whale  was  spoiled.  Beamish,  in  his  translation 
of  the  song  of  Thorhall,  indeed  makes  that  disagreeable  pagan  tell  his  com 
rades,  that,  if  they  wish,  they 

'•''Fetid  whale?  may  boil 
Here  on  Furdustrand 
Far  from  Fatherland ;" 

but  there  is  nothing  in  the  text  to  throw  suspicion  upon  the  whale.     The 
trouble  was,  that  a  sudden  overfeeding  caused  nausea,  and  the  whale  was 
thrown  away  afterwards  in  religious  disgust.     Yet  the  event  is  out  of  its 
chronological  order,  and  properly  belongs  in  the  account  of  the  next  year. 
10 


74  PRE-COLUMBIAN  DISCOVERY  OF 

Skraellings  was  such,  that  they  carried  away  their  winnings 
in  their  stomachs ;  and  Karlsefne  and  his  comrades  got 
both  their  bags  and  skin  goods,  and  so  they  went  away. 
And  now  it  is  to  be  told,  that  Karlsefne  let  a  good  strong 
fence  be  made  around  the  habitation,  and  strengthened  it 
for  defense.  At  this  time,  Gudrid,1  Karlsefne's  wife,  lay 
in  of  a  male  child,  and  the  child  was  called  Snorre.  In 
the  beginning  of  the  next  winter,  came  the  Skreellings 
again  to  them,  and  in  much  greater  numbers  than  before, 
and  with  the  same  kind  of  wares.  Then  said  Karlsefne  to 
the  women,  "  Now  ye  shall  carry  out  the  same  kind  of  food 
as  was  best  liked  the  last  time,  and  nothing  else.  And 
when  they  saw  that  they  threw  their  bundles  in  over  the  fence : 
and  Gudrid  sat  in  the  door  within,  by  the  cradle  of  Snorre, 
her  son.  Then  came  a  shadow  to  the  door,  and  a  woman 
went  in  with  a  black  kirtle  on,  rather  short,  with  a  snood 
around  her  head;  clear,  yellow  hair;  pale;  with  large 
eyes,  so  large  that  none  ever  saw  such  eyes  in  a  human 
head.  She  went  to  where  Gudrid  was  sitting,  and  said  : 
"  What  art  thou  called  ?  "  "I  am  called  Gudrid  ;  and 
what  art  thou  called  ?  "  "I  am  called  Gudrid,  said  she." 
Then  the  goodwife,  Gudrid,  put  out  her  hand  to  her,  that 
she  might  sit  down  beside  her.  And  at  the  same  time 
Gudrid  heard  a  great  noise,  and  the  woman  had  vanished  ; 2 
and  at  the  same  time  one  of  the  Skrsellings  was  killed 
by  one  of  Karlsefne's  house  men,  because  he  was  about  to 
take  one  of  their  weapons ;  and  they  made  off  as  soon  as 
possible,  leaving  behind  them  goods  and  clothes.  No  one 
had  seen  this  woman  but  Gudrid.  "  Now,"  says  Karlsefne, 
"  we  must  be  cautious,  and  take  counsel ;  for  I  think  they 


'This  event  belongs  to  the  previous  year.  These  facts  are  not  given 
in  the  other  accounts,  the  writer  appearing  to  have  different  information. 

2  This  is  another  somewhat  marvelous  occurrence,  similar  to  those  with 
which  Cotton  Mather  and  others  were  accustomed  to  embellish  New  Eng 
land  history. 


AMERICA  BY  THE  NORTHMEN.  75 

will  come  the  third  time  with  hostility  and  many  people. 
We  shall  now  take  the  plan,  that  ten  men  go  out  to  the 
ness  and  show  themselves  there,  and  the  rest  of  our  men 
shall  go  into  the  woods  and  make  a  clearance  for  our 
cattle  against  the  time  the  enemy  comes  out  of  the  forest ; 
and  we  shall  take  the  bull  before  us,  and  let  him  go  in 
front."  And  it  happened  so  that  at  the  place  where  they 
were  to  meet,  there  was  a  lake  on  the  one  side,  and  the  forest 
on  the  other.  The  plan  which  Karlsefne  had  laid  down, 
was  adopted.  The  Skreellings  came  to  the  place  where 
Karlsefne  proposed  to  fight ;  and  there  was  a  battle  there, 
and  many  of  the  Skrsellings  fell.  There  was  one  stout, 
handsome  man  among  the  Sknellings  people,  and  Karlsefne 
thought  that  he  must  be  their  chief.  One  of  the  Skrsel- 
lings  had  taken  up  an  axe  arid  looked  at  it  awhile,  and 
wielded  it  against  one  of  his  comrades  and  cut  him  down, 
so  that  he  fell  dead  instantly.  Then  the  stout  man  took 
the  axe,1  looked  at  it  awhile,  and  threw  it  into  the  sea  as 
far  as  he  could.  They  then  fled  to  the  woods  as  fast  as 
they  could,  and  so  ended  the  fight.  Karlsefne  stayed  there 
with  his  men  the  whole  winter;  but  towards  spring  he 
made  known  that  he  would  not  stay  there  any  longer, 
and  would  return  to  Greenland.2  Now  they  prepared  for 
their  voyage  and  took  much  goods  from  thence  —  vines, 
grapes  and  skin  wares.  They  put  to  sea,  and  their  ship 
came  to  Ericsfiord,  and  they  there  passed  the  winter. 


1  For  the  previous  versions  of  this  affair  of  the  axe,  see  pp.  60.     This 
last  account  appears  a  little  plainer. 

2  It  is  true  that  he  decided  to  leave  the  country,  but  he  did  not  carry  out 
his  intention  until  the  following  year,  1010.     This  narrative  skips  over  all 
the  events  of  the  third  year.    It  is  nevertheless  given,  in  order  that  the 
reader  may  have  the  fullest  possible  knowledge  of  any  shortcomings  that 
may  exist  in  the  manuscripts.     This  is  done  with  the  more  confidence,  for 
the  reason  that  there  is  no  doubt  but  that  all  the  narratives  contain  a  broad 
substratum  of  solid  truth. 


76  PRE-COLUMBIAN  DISCOVERY  OF 

The  following  summer,1  [A.  D.  1011.]  Karlsefne  went 
to  Iceland  and  Gudrid  with,  him,  and  he  went  home  to 
Reikianess.  His  mother  felt  that  he  had  made  a  poor 
match,  and  for  this  reason  Gudrid  was  not  at  home  the 
first  winter.  But  when  she  saw  that  Gudrid  was  a  noble 
woman,  she  went  home,  and  they  got  on  well  together. 
Halfrid  was  the  daughter  of  Snorre  Karlsefnesson,  mother 
to  Bishop  Thorlak  Runolfson.  Their  son  was  named 
Thorbiorn,  and  his  daughter,  Thoruna,  mother  to  Bishop 
Biorne.  Thorgeir  was  the  son  of  Snorre  Karlsefnesson, 
father  to  Ingveld,  mother  of  the  first  Bishop  Brand. 
Snorre  Karlsefnesson  had  a  daughter,  Steinun,  who  married 
Einar,  son  of  Grundarketil,  son  of  Thorvald  Krok,  the  sou 
of  Thorer,  of  Espihol;  their  son  was  Thorstein  Rauglatr. 
He  was  father  to  Gudrun,  who  married  Jorundof  Keldum. 
Halla  was  their  daughter,  and  she  was  mother  to  Flose, 
father  of  Valgerda,  who  was  mother  of  Herr  Erland 
Sterka,  father  of  Herr  Hauk,  the  Lagman.2  Another 
daughter  of  Flose  was  Thordis,  mother  of  Fru  Ingigerd 
the  Eich ;  her  daughter  was  Fru  Hallbera,  Abbess  of  Stad, 
in  Reikianess.  Many  other  distinguished  men  in  Iceland 
are  the  descendants  of  Karlsefne  and  Thurid,  who  are  not 
here  mentioned.  God  be  with  us.  Amen.  • 


1  From  the  statement  at  the  end  of  the  voyage  of  Freydis  (see  p.  80),  we 
learn  that  the  summer  in  which  he  returned  from  Iceland,  Karlsefne  went 
to  Norway,  and  from  thence  the  following  spring,  to  Iceland.     This  does  not 
conflict  with  the  statement  in  the  above  narrative,  though  at  first  it  may 
appear  to.     It  does  not  say  that  he  went  the  following  summer  from  Green 
land  to  Iceland,  but  that  on  that  summer,  he  went  to  Iceland,  which  is 
perfectly  true,  though  poorly  stated,  and  his  previous  voyage  to  Norway 
being  ignored. 

2  See  p.  48. 


AMERICA  BY  THE  NORTHMEN.  77 


VIII.   THE  VOYAGE   OF  FREYDIS,  HELGE  AND 
FINBOGE. 

This  narrative  is  found  in  Antiquitates  American^  p.  65. 
It  shows  that  history,  among  the  Icelanders,  was  not 
made  subservient  to  family  interests.  At  the  conclusion 
we  have  a  (supplementary)  notice  of  Thorfinn  and  Gudrid, 
after  their  return  to  Iceland. 


Now  the  conversation  began  again  to  turn  upon  a  Vin- 
land  voyage,  as  the  expedition  was  both  gainful  and 
honorable.  The  same  summer  [A.  D.  1010.]  that  Karlsefne 
returned  from  Vinland,  a  ship  arrived  in  Greenland  from 
Norway.  Two  brothers  commanded  the  ship,  Helge  and 
Finboge ;  and  they  remained  that  winter  in  Greenland. 
The  brothers  were  of  Icelandic  descent  from  Earlfiord.  It 
is  now  to  be  told,  that  Freydis,  Eric's  daughter,  came  home 
from  Garda,1  and  went  to  the  abode  of  Finboge  and 
Helge,  and  proposed  to  them  that  they  should  go  to  Vin 
land  with  their  vessel,  and  have  half  with  her  of  all  the 
goods  they  could  get  there.  They  agreed  to  this.  Then 
she  went  to  the  abode  of  her  brother  Leif,  and  asked  him 
to  give  her  the  houses  he  had  built  in  Vinland;  and  he 
answered  as  before,  that  he  would  lend,  but  not  give  the 
houses.  It  was  agreed  upon  between  the  brothers  and 
Freydis,  that  each  should  have  thirty  fighting  men,  besides 
women.  But  Freydis  broke  this,  and  had  five  men  more, 
and  concealed  them ;  and  the  brothers  knew  nothing  of  it 
until  they  arrived  in  Vinland.2  They  went  to  sea,  and  had 


1  Garda  was  the  Episcopal  seat  of  Greenland.     Freydis  and  her  husband 
went  to  Vinland  with  Karlsefhe.     It  was  she  who  frightened  the  Skraellings. 

2  It  appears  that  the  route  to  Vinland  had  become  so  well  known,  that 
the  Saga  writers  no  longer  thought  it  necessary  to  describe  it. 


78  ,  PRE-COLUMBIAN  DISCOVERY  OF 

agreed  beforehand  to  sail  in  company,  if  they  could  do  so : 
and  the  difference  was  little,  although  the  brothers  came 
a  little  earlier,  and  had  carried  up  their  baggage  to  Leif  's 
houses.  And  when  Freydis  came  to  the  land,  her  people 
cleared  the  ship,  and  carried  her  baggage  also  up  to  the 
house.  Then  said  Freydis :  "  Why  are  you  carrying  your 
things  in  here?"  "Because  we  thought,"  said  they, 
"  that  the  whole  of  the  agreement  with  us  should  be  held." 
She  said,  u  Leif  lent  the  houses  to  me,  not  to  you."  Then 
said  Helge,  "  In  evil,  we  brothers  cannot  strive  with  thee  :  " 
and  bore  out  their  luggage  and  made  a  shed,  and  built  it 
farther  from  the  sea,  on  the  borders  of  a  lake,1  and  set  all 
about  it  in  order.  Freydis  let  trees  be  cut  down  for  her 
ship's  cargo.  Now  winter  set  in,  and  the  brothers  proposed 
to  have  some  games  for  amusement  to  pass  the  time. 
So  it  was  done  for  a  time,  till  discord  came  among  them, 
and  the  games  were  given  up,  and  none  went  from  one 
house  to  the  other ;  and  things  went  on  so  during  a  great 
part  of  the  winter.  It  happened  one  morning  that  Freydis 
got  out  of  her  berth,  and  put  on  her  clothes,  but  not  her 
shoes ;  and  the  weather  was  such  that  much  dew  had  fallen. 
She  took  the  cloak  of  her  husband  over  her,  and  went  out, 
and  went  to  the  house  of  the  brothers,  and  to  the  door.  A 
man  had  gone  out  a  little  before  and  left  the  door  behind 
him,  half  shut.  She  opened  the  door,  and  stood  in  the 
doorway  a  little,  and  was  silent.  Finboge  lay  the  farthest 
inside  the  hut,  and  was  awake.  He  said :  "  What  wilt 
thou  have  here,  Freydis  ?  "  She  said,  "I  want  thee  to  get 
up  and  go  out  with  me,  for  I  would  speak  with  thee." 


1  Mount  Hope  bay  is  still  often  called  a  lake.  These  waters  always  appear 
like  lakes.  Brereton,  in  his  account  of  Gosnold's  voyage,  calls  these  same 
bays,  lakes.  He  writes  :  "  From  this  [Elizabeth]  island,  we  went  right  over 
to  the  mayne,  where  we  stood  awhile  as  ravished  at  the  beautie  and  dilicacy 
of  the  sweetnesse,  besides  divers  cleare  lakes,  whereof  we  saw  no  end." 


AMERICA  BY  THE  NORTHMEN.  79 

He  did  so :  they  went  to  a  tree  that  was  lying  under  the 
eaves  of  the  hut,  and  sat  down.  "  How  dost  thou  like 
this  place  ?  "  said  she.  He  said,  "  The  country,  methinks, 
is  good;  but  I  do  not  like  this  quarrel  that  has  arisen 
among  us,  for  I  think  there  is  no  cause  for  it."  "  Thou 
art  right,"  says  she,  "  and  I  think  so  too;  and  it  is  my 
errand  to  thy  dwelling,  that  I  want  to  buy  the  ship  of 
your  brothers,  as  your  ship  is  larger  than  mine,  and  I 
would  break  up  from  hence."  "I  will  let  it  be  so,"  said  he, 
"if  that  will  please. thee."  Now  they  parted  so,  and  she 
went  home,  and  Finboge  to  his  bed.  She  went  up  into 
her  berth,  and  with  her  cold  feet  awakened  Thorvard,  who 
asked  why  she  was  so  cold  and  wet.  She  answered  with 
great  warmth,  "  I  went  to  these  brothers,"  said  she,  "  to 
treat  about  their  ship,  for  I  want  a  larger  ship  ; l  and  they 
took  it  so  ill,  that  they  struck  and  abused  me.  And,  thou, 
useless  man !  wilt  neither  avenge  my  affront,  nor  thy  own ; 
and  now  must  I  feel  that  I  am  away  from  Greenland,  but 
I  will  separate 2  from  thee  if  thou  dost  not  avenge  this." 
And  now  he  could  not  bear  her  reproaches,  and  told  his 
men  to  rise  as  fast  as  possible,  and  take  their  weapons. 
They  did  so,  and  went  to  the  tents  of  the  brothers,  and 
went  in  as  they  lay  asleep,  and  seized  them  all,  bound  them, 
and  led  them  out  bound,  one  after  the  other,  and  Freydis 
had  each  of  them  put  to  death,  as  he  came  out.  Now  all 
the  men  were  killed ;  but  the  women  were  left,  and  nobody 
would  kill  them.  Then  said  Freydis,  "  Give  me  an  axe  in 
my  hand."  This  was  done,  and  she  turned  on  those  five 
women,  and  did  not  give  over  until  they  were  all  de 
Now  they  returned  to  their  own  hut  after  this  evil  deed  ; 
and  the  people  could  only^observe  that  Freydis  thought 


1  Freydis  was  evidently  the  principal  in  all  things. 

2  By  the  Icelandic  law,  a  woman  could  separate  from  her  husband  for  a 
slight  cause. 


80,  PRE-COLUMBIAN  DISCOVERY  OF 

she  had  done  exceedingly  well ;  and  she  said  to  her  com 
rades,  "  If  it  be  our  lot  to  return  to  Greenland,  I  shall  take 
the  life  of  the  man  who  speaks  of  this  affair ;  and  we  shall 
say  that  we  left  them  here  when  we  went  away."  Now 
they  got  ready  the  ship  early  in  spring  [A.  D.  1011.]  which 
had  belonged  to  the  brothers,  with  all  the  goods  they  could 
get  on,  that  the  ship  would  carry,  sailed  out  to  sea,  and 
had  a  good  voyage ;  and  the  ship  came  early  in  the  summer 
to  Ericsfiord.  Karlsefne  was  there  still,1  and  had  his  ship 
ready  for  sea,  but  waited  a  wind;  and  it  was  a  common 
saying  that  never  a  richer  ship  sailed  from  Greenland  than 
that  which  he  steered. 

Freydis  went  home  now  to  her  house,  which  had  stood 
without  damage  in  the  meanwhile.  She  bestowed  many 
gifts  on  her  followers,  that  they  might  conceal  her  wicked 
ness  ;  and  she  remained  now  on  her  farm.  All  were  not 
so  silent  about  their  misdeeds  and  wickedness,  that  some 
thing  did  not  come  up  about  it.  This  came  at  last  to  the 
ears  of  Leif,  her  brother,  and  he  thought  this  report  was 
very  bad.  Leif  took  three  men  of  Freydis's  followers,  and 
tortured  them  to  speak,  and  they  acknowledged  the  whole 
affair,  and  their  tales  agreed  together.  "I  do  not  care," 
says  Leif,  "  to  treat  my  sister  as  she  deserves;  but  this  I 
will  foretell  them,  that  their  posterity  will  never  thrive." 
And  it  went  so  that  nobody  thought  anything  of  them  but 
evil,  from  that  time.2  Now  we  have  to  say  that  Karlsefne 
got  ready  his  ship,  and  sailed  out  to  sea.3  He  came  on  well, 
and  reached  Norway  safely,  and  remained  there  all  winter 


According  to  this  statement,  the   expedition  returned  very  early,  as 
Karlsefne  went  to  Norway  the  same  season,  as  previously  told. 

2  If  this  transaction  had  occurred  during  the  previous  century,   when 
paganism  universally  prevailed,  this  atrocious  act  of  the  cold-blooded  Frey 
dis,  would  have  been  the  prelude  to  almost  endless  strife. 

3  This  account  is  supplementary  to  the  foregoing,  and  is  taken  from  the 
same  work.     Karlsefne,  of  course,  sailed  from  Greenland. 


AMERICA  BY  THE  NORTHMEN.  gl 

and  sold  his  wares;  and  he,  and  his  wife,  were  held  in 
esteem  by  the  best  people  in  Norway.  Now  in  the  follow 
ing  spring,  he  fitted  out  his  ship  for  Iceland,  and  when  he 
was  quite  ready,  and  his  ship  lay  outside  the  pier  waiting 
a  wind,  there  came  to  him  a  south-country  man,  from 
Bremen,  in  Saxon  land,  who  would  deal  with  him  for  his 
house-bar.1  "  I  will  not  sell  it,"  said  he.  "  I  will  give 
thee  half  a  mark  of  gold  for  it,"  said  the  south-country 
man.  Karlsefne  thought  it  was  a  good  offer,  and  sold  it 
accordingly.  The  south-country  man  went  away  with  his 
house-bar,  and  Karlsefne  did  not  know  what  wood  it  was. 
It  was  massur-wood 2  from  Yinland.  Now  Karlsefne  put 
to  sea,  [A.  D.  1012.]  and  his  ship  came  to  land  north  at 
Skagafiord,3  and  there  he  put  up  his  vessel  for  winter.  In 
spring  he  purchased  Glambseirland,4  where  he  took  up  his 
abode,  and  dwelt  there  as  long  as  he  lived,  and  was  a  man 
of  great  consideration ;  and  many  men  are  descended  from 
him  and  his  wife  Gudrid,  and  it  was  a  good  family. 
"When  Karlsefne  died,  Gudrid  took  the  management  of  his 
estates,  and  of  Snorre  her  son,  who  was  born  in  Vinland. 
And  when  Snorre  was  married,  Gudrid  went  out  of  the 
country,  and  went  to  the  south,5  and  came  back  again  to 


1  Husasnotru  has  been  translated  "  house-besom."  The  exact  meaning  is 
not  known.  A  besom-shaft  would  be  too  small,  however  rare  the  wood,  to 
be  made  into  anything  of  value.  The  bar  for  securing  the  house  door  was 
as  common  as  necessary  in  every  house,  and  this,  perhaps,  is  what  is  referred 
to. 

a  See  note  1,  p.  36. 

3  In  the  north  of  Iceland. 

4  Not  far  from  Skagafiord. 

5  It  is  understood  that  she  went  to  Rome.     It  may  be  asked  why  she 
did  not  spread  the  news  of  her  son's  voyage  in  those   parts  of  Europe 
whither  she  went,  and  make  known  the  discovery  of  the  New  World.     To 
this  it  may  be  replied,  that  the  Icelanders  had  no  idea  that  they  had  found 
a  New  World,  and  did  not  appreciate  the  value  of  their  geographical  know 
ledge.     Besides,  there  is  nothing   to   prove  that  Gudrid,  and  others  who 

11 


82  PRE-COLUMBIAN  DISCOVERY. 

Snorre's  estate^  and  he  had  built  a  church  at  Glambse.. 
Afterwards  Gudrid  became  a  nun,  and  lived  a  hermit's 
life,  and  did  so  as  long  as  she  lived.1  Snorre  had  a  son 
called  Thorgeir,  who  was  father  to  Bishop  Brand's  mother, 
Ingveld.  The  daughter  of  Snorre  Karlsemesson  was 
called  Halfrid.  She  was  mother  of  Runolf,  the  father  of 
Bishop  Thorlak.  Karlsefne  and  Gudrid  also  had  a  son 
called  Biorn.  He  was  father  of  Thoruna,  the  mother  of 
Bishop  Biorn.  Many  people  are  descended  from  Karl 
sefne,  and  his,  kin  have  been  lucky ;  and  Karlsefne  has 
given  the  most  particular  accounts  of  all  these  travels,  of 
which  something  is  here  related. 


went  to  Europe  at  this  period,  did  not  make  known  the  Icelandic  disco 
veries.  At  that  time  no  interest  was  taken  in  such  subjects,  and  therefore 
we  have  no  right  to  expect  to  find  traces  of  discussion  in  relation  to  what, 
among  a  very  small  class,  would  be  regarded,  at  the  best,  as  a  curious  story. 
See  note  on  Adam  of  Bremen  in  the  General  Introduction. 

1  It  will  be  remembered  that  all  this  was  foretold  by  her  former  husband, 
Thorstein  Ericson,  when  he  returned  to  life  in  the  house  of  Thorstein 
Black,  in  Greenland ;  from  which  we  must  infer  that  the  voyage  of  Thor 
stein  Ericson  was  composed  after,  or  during,  the  second  widowhood  of 
Gudrid,  and  that  the  circumstance  of  Thorstein's  prophecy,  was,  in  accord 
ance  with  the  spirit  of  the  age,  imagined  in  order  to  meet  the  circum 
stances  of  the  case.  See  p.  46. 


MINOR   NARRATIVES. 


MINOR    NARRATIVES. 


I.  ARE   MARSON  IN  HVITR AMANDA-LAND. 

This  narrative  is  from  the  Landnama-bok,  No.  107. 
Folio ;  collated  with  Hauksbok,  Melabok  and  other  manu 
scripts,  in  the  Arnce-Magncean  Collection. 

It  has  frequently  been  observed  that  the  Landnama-bok 
is  of  the  highest  authority;  yet  we  must  remember  that  it 
only  proves  the  fact,  that  Rafn,  the  Limerick  merchant, 
conveyed  the  narrative  to  Iceland  from  Ireland,  where  the 
circumstances  were  well  known.  The  Landnama-bok,  while 
it  gives  a  tacit  approval  of  the  statements  of  the  narrative, 
does  not  enter  upon  the  question  of  the  locality  of  the 
place  to  which  Are  Marson  went.  Therefore  while  we 
accept  the  narrative  as  genuine  history,  we  should  exer 
cise  due  caution  in  determining  the  locality  of  Hvitra- 
manua-land.  Nothing  is  to  be  gained  by  making  any 
forced  deductions  from  the  narrative ;  especially  as  the 
pre-Columbian  discovery  of  America  is  abundantly  proved, 
without  the  aid  of  this,  or  any  other  of  the  Minor  Narra 
tives. 


Ulf  the  Squinter,  son  of  Hogni  the  White,  took  the 
whole  of  Reikianess  between  Thorkafiord  and  Hafrafell; 
he  married  Biorg,  daughter  of  Eyvind  the  Eastman,1  sister 


1  That  is,  a  Norwegian. 


8(3  PRE-COLUMBIAN  DISCOVERY  OF 

to  Helge  the  Lean.  They  had  a  son  named  Atli  the  Ked, 
who  married  Thorbiorg,  sister  of  Steinolf  the  Humble. 
Their  son  was  named  Mar  of  Holum,  who  married  Thor- 
katla,  daughter  of  Hergil  Neprass.  She  had  a  son  named 
Are,  who  [A.  D.  928.]  was  driven  by  a  storm  to  White- 
man's  land,1  which  some  call  Ireland  the  Great,  which  lies 


1  Hmtramanna-land.  It  will  be  remembered  that  in  the  Saga  of  Thor- 
•finn  Karlsefne  (p.  63),  this  land  was  referred  to  by  the  natives  whom  he 
took  prisoners.  They  described  it  as  a  land  inhabited  by  a  people  who 
wore  white  clothes,  carried  poles  before  them,  and  shouted.  Yet  the  Saga 
writer  there  says  no  more  than  that  the  people  think  that  this  was  the 
place  known  as  Ireland  the  Great.  What  the  Skrsellings  say  does  not 
identify  it  with  the  land  of  Are  Marson.  Yet,  in  order  to  allow  Professor 
Rafn,  who  held  that  this  country  was  America,  'the  full  benefit  of  his 
theory,  we  give  the  following  extract  from  Wafer's  Voyage,  which  shows 
that  in  the  year  1681,  when  he  visited  the  Isthmus  of  Darien,  there  were 
people  among  the  natives  who  answered  tolerably  well  to  the  description 
given  in  Karlsefne's  narrative.  Wafer  says  :  "  They  are  white,  and  there 
are  them  of  both  sexes  ;  yet  there  were  few  of  them  in  comparison  of  the 
copper  colored,  possibly  but  one,  to  two  or  three  hundred.  They  differ 
from  the  other  Indians,  chiefly  in  respect  of  color,  though  not  in  that  only. 
Their  skins  are  not  of  such  a  white,  as  those  of  fair  people  among  Euro 
peans,  with  some  tincture  of  a  blush  or  sanguine  complexion  ;  neither  is 
their  complexion  like  that  of  our  paler  people,  but  'tis  rather  a  Milk- 
white,  lighter  than  the  color  of  any  Europeans,  and  much  like  that  of  a 

white  horse Their  bodies  are  beset  all  over,  more  or  less,  with  a  fine, 

short,  milk-white  down The  men  would  probably  have  white  bristles 

for  beards,  did  they  not  prevent  them  by  their  custom  of  plucking  the 

young  beard  up  by  the  roots Their  eyebrows  are  milk-white  also,  and 

so  is  the  hair  of  their  heads."     p.  107. 

He  also  adds,  that  "  The  men  have  a  value  for  Cloaths,  and  if  any  of 
them  had  an  old  shirt  given  him  by  any  of  us,  he  would  be  sure  to  wear 
it,  and  strut  about  at  no  ordinary  rate.  Besides  this,  they  have  a  sort  of 
long  cotton  garments  of  their  own,  some  white,  and  others  of  a  rusty 
black,  shaped  like  our  carter's  frocks,  hanging  down  to  their  heels,  with  a 
fringe  of  the  same  of  cotton,  about  a  span  long,  and  short,  wide,  open 
sleeves,  reaching  but  to  the  middle  of  their  arms.  .  .  .  They  are  worn  on 
some  great  occasions.  .  .  .  When  they  are  assembled,  they  will  sometimes 
walk  about  the  place  or  plantation  where  they  are,  with  these,  their  robes 
on.  And  once  I  saw  Tacenta  thus  walking  with  two  ov  three  hundred  <>(' 


AMERICA  BY  THE  NORTHMEN.  87 

in  the  Western  ocean  opposite  Yinland,  six1  days  sail  west 
of  Ireland.  Are  was  not  allowed  to  go  away,  and  was 
baptized2  there.  This  was  first  told  by  Rafn,  the  Lime- 


these  attending  him,  as  if  he  was  mustering  them.  And  I  took  notice  that 
those  in  the  black  gowns  walked  before  him,  and  the  white  after  him, 
each  having  their  lances  of  the  same  color  with  their  robes."  But  not 
withstanding  these  resemblances,  historians  will  ask  for  more  solid  proof  of 
,  the  identity  of  the  two  people. 

^Professor  Rafn  in,  what  seems  to  the  author,  his  needless  anxiety  to 
fix  the  locality  of  the  'White-man's  land  in  America,  says  that,  as  this  part 
of  the  manuscript  is  difficult  to  decipher,  the  original  letters  may  have  got 
changed,  and  vi  inserted  instead  of  xx,  or  xi,  which  numerals  would  afford 
time  for  the  voyager  to  reach  the  coast  of  America,  in  the  vicinity  of 
Florida.  Smith  in  his  Dialogues,  has  even  gone  so  far  as  to  suppress  the 
term  six  altogether,  and  substitutes,  "  by  a  number  of  days  sail  unknown." 
This  is  simply  trifling  with  the  subject.  In  Gronland's  Historiske  Mindes- 
mcerker,  chiefly  the  work  of  Finn  Magnussen,  no  question  is  raised  on  this 
point.  The  various  versions  all  give  the  number  six,  which  limits  the 
voyage  to  the  vicinity  of  the  Azores.  Schoning,  to  whom  we  are  so  largely 
indebted  for  the  best  edition  of  Heimskringla,  lays  the  scene  of  Marson' s 
adventure  at  those  islands,  and  suggests  that  they  may  at  that  time  have 
covered  a  larger  extent  of  territory  than  the  present,  and  that  they  may  have 
suffered  from  earthquakes  and  floods,  adding,  "  It  is  likely,  and  all  circum 
stances  show,  that  the  said  land  has  been  a  piece  of  North  America."  This  is  a 
bold,  though  not  very  unreasonable  hypothesis,  especially  as  the  volcanic  cha 
racter  of  the  islands  is  well  known.  In  1808,  a  volcano  rose  to  the  height  of 
3,500  feet.  Yet  Schoning's  suggestion  is  not  needed.  The  fact  that  the 
islands  were  not  inhabited  when  discovered  by  the  Portuguese  does  not, 
however,  settle  anything  against  Schoning,  because  in  the  course  of  five 
hundred  years,  the  people  might  either  have  migrated,  or  been  swept  away 
by  pestilence.  Gronland's  Historiske  Mindesmcerker ,  (vol.  i,  p.  150),  says 
simply,  that  "  It  is  thought  that  he  (Are  Marson)  ended  his  days  in  America, 
or  at  all  events  in  one  of  the  larger  islands  of  the  west.  Some  think  that  it 

/          f*} 

was  one  of  the  Azore  islands.*'  ,  0^  fazfa^  /^f'~/W;  >,;  i.^t  /.',  .v 
2  The  fact  that  Are  Marson  is  said  to  have  been  baptized  in  Ireland  Ilie 
Great,  does  not  prove  that  the  place,  wherever  located,  was  inhabited  by 
a  colony  of  Irish  Christians.  Yet  this  view  was  urged  by  Professor  Rafn 
and  others,  who  held  that  Great  Ireland  was  situated  in  Florida.  A 
Shawanese  tradition  is  given  to  prove  that  Florida  was  early  settled  by 
white  men  from  over  the  sea.  We  read  that  in  1818,  "  the  Shawanese  were 
established  in  Ohio,  whither  they  came  from  Florida,  Black  Hoof,  then 


88    ,  PRE-COLUMBIAN  DISCOVERY  OF 

rick  trader,  who  lived  for  a  long  time  in  Ireland.  So  also 
Thorkel,  son  of  Geller,  tells  that  certain  Icelanders  said, 
who  heard  Thorfinn,  Earl  of  the  Orkneys,  say,  that  Are 
had  been  seen  and  known  in  White-man's  land,  and  that, 
though  not  allowed  to  leave,  he  was  held  in  much  honor. 
Are  had  a  wife  named  Thorgeir,  daughter  of  Alf  of  Dolum. 
Their  sons  were  Thorgils,  Gudleif  and  Illuge,  which  is 
the  family  of  Reikianess.  Jorund  was  the  son  of  Ulf  the 
Squinter.  He  married  Thorbiorg  Ivnarrabringa.  They 
had  a  daughter,  Thorhild,  whom  Eric  the  Red  married. 
They  had  a  son,  Leif  the  Fortunate  of  Greenland.  Jorund 
was  the  name  of  the  son  of  Atli  the  Red ;  he  married 
Thordis,  daughter  of  Thorgeir  Suda;  their  daughter  was 
Thorkatla,  who  married  Thorgils  Kollson.  Jorund  was  also 
the  father  of  Snorre.1 


eighty-five  years  old,  was  born  there,  and  remembered  bathing  in  the  sea. 
He  told  the  Indian  Agent,  that  the  people  of  his  tribe  had  a  tradition,  that 
their  ancestors  came  over  the  sea,  and  that  for  a  long  time  they  kept  a 
yearly  sacrifice  for  their  safe  arrival." — Archaiologia  Americana,  vol.  I,  p. 
273.  Yet  these  Indians,  the  supposed  descendants  of  eminently  pious 
Christians  from  Ireland,  were  bitterly  opposed  to  Christianity,  and  had  no 
Christian  traditions.  This  view  requires  altogether  too  much  credulity.  Is 
it  not  more  reasonable,  especially  in  view  of  the  fact  that  this  narrative  is 
not  needed  in  demonstrating  the  pre-Columbian  discovery  of  America  —  to 
seek  for  the  White-man's  land  in  some  island  of  the  Atlantic  ;  for  if  we 
were  to  allow  that  six,  should  mean  eleven  or  twenty  days  sail,  we  should 
not  be  much  better  off,  since  there  is  so  much  difficulty  in  finding  the  white 
men  for  the  land  in  question.  . 

1  It  will  appear  from  this  genealogical  account,  that  Are  Marson  was  no 
obscure  or  mythological  character.  In  981  he  was  one  of  the  principal 
men  of  Iceland,  and  is  highly  spoken  of.  Yet  his  connection  with  Ireland 
the  Great,  though  undoubtedly  real,  hardly  proves,  what  may  nevertheless 
be  true  —  a  pre-Scandinavian  discovery  of  America  by  the  Irish.  This,  not 
improbable  view,  demands  clearer  proof,  and  will  repay  investigation. 
The  other  characters  mentioned  are  equally  well  known.  See  Antiqui- 
tates  Americana!,  pp.  211-12. 


AMERICA  BY  THE  NORTHMEN.  §9 


II.  BIOKN  ASBRANDSOK 

This  narrative  is  taken  from  Eyrbyggia  Saga,  which 
contains  the  early  history  of  that  part  of  Iceland  lying 
around  Snsefells,  on  the  west  coast.  The  Saga  is  not  of  a 
later  date  than  the  thirteenth  century.  It  is  given  here,  not 
because  it  applies  largely  to  the  question  under  considera 
tion,  the  pre-Columbian  discovery  of  America,  but  rather 
because  it  will  make  the  reader  fully  acquainted  with  the 
hero,  who  afterwards  appears. 


Bork  the  Fat,  and  Thordis,  daughter  of  Sur,  had  a 
daughter  named  Thurid,  who  married  Thorbiorn  the  Fat, 
living  on  the  estate  of  Froda.  He  was  a  son  of  Orne  the 
Lean,  who  held  and  tilled  the  farm  of  Froda.  Thorbiorn 
had  before  been  married  to  Thurid,  daughter  of  Asbrand, 
of  Kamb,  in  Breidavik,  and  sister  of  Biorn  Breidaviking 
the  Athlete,  soon  to  be  mentioned  in  this  Saga,  and  of 
Arnbiorn  the  Handy.  The  sons  of  Thorbiorn  and  Thurid, 
were  Ketil  the  Champion,  Gunnlaug  and  Hallstein. 

Now  this  must  be  related  of  Snorre  the  Priest,1  that  he 
undertook  the  suit  for  the  slaying  of  Thorbiorn,  his  kins 
man.  He  also  caused  his  sister  to  remove  to  his  own 
home,  at  Helgefell,  because  it  was  reported  that  Biorn 
Asbrand,  of  Kamb,  had  come  to  pay  her  improper  atten 
tion. 


1  Priest  or  Gode.  This  was  the  heathen  priest  of  Iceland,  whose  duty 
was  to  provide  the  temple  offerings,  for  which  purpose  a  contribution  was 
made  by  every  farm  in  the  vicinity.  This  office  was  also  united  with 
that  of  chief,  judge,  and  advocate,  and  for  the  cases  conducted  by  him 
at  the  Thing,  he  received  the  customary  fees;  yet  he  was  obliged  to 
depend  for  his  support,  mainly  upon  the  products  of  his  farm.  The  office 
was  hereditary,  but  could  be  sold,  assigned,  or  forfeited. 
12 


90  PRE-COLUMBIAN  DISCOVERY  OF 

There  was  a  man  named  Thorodd,  of  Medalfells  Strand, 
an  upright  man  and  a  good  merchant.  He  owned  a 
trading  vessel  in  which  he  sailed  to  distant  lands.  Tho 
rodd  had  sailed  to  the  west,1  to  Dublin,  on  a  trading 
voyage.  At  that  time,  Sigurd 2  Hlodverson,  Earl  of  the 
Orkneys,  had  made  an  expedition  towards  the  west,  to  the 
Hebrides  and  the  Man,  and  had  laid  a  tribute  upon 
the  habitable  part  of  Man.  Having  settled  the  peace,  he 
left  men  to  collect  the  tribute ;  the  earl  himself  returned  to 
the  Orkneys.  Those  who  were  left  to  collect  the  tribute, 
got  all  ready  and  set  sail  with  a  southwest  wind.  But 
after  they  had  sailed  some  time,  to  the  southeast  and  east, 
a  great  storm  arose,  which  drove  them  to  the  north 
ward  as  far  as  Ireland,  and  their  vessel  was  cast  away 
on  a  barren,  uninhabited  island.  Just  as  they  reached  the 
island,  Thorodd  the  Icelander  came  sailing  by  from 
Dublin.  The  shipwrecked  men  begged  for  aid.  Tho 
rodd  put  out  a  boat  and  went  to  them  himself.  When  he 
reached  them,  the  agents  of  Sigurd  promised  him  money 
if  he  would  carry  them  to  their  home  in  the  Orkneys. 
When  he  told  them  that  he  could  by  no  means  do  so,  as 
he  had  made  all  ready  to  go  back  to  Iceland,  they  begged 
the  harder,  believing  that  neither  their  money  nor  their 
liberty  would  be  safe  in  Ireland  or  the  Hebrides,  whither 
they  had  just  before  been  with  a  hostile  army.  At  length 
Thorodd  came  to  this,  that  he  would  sell  them  his  ship's 
long-boat  for  a  large  sum  of  the  tribute  money ;  in  this 
they  reached  the  Orkneys,  and  Thorodd  sailed  to  Iceland 
without  a  boat.  Having  reached  the  southern  shores  of 
the  island,  he  laid  his  course  along  the  coast  to  the  west 
ward,  and  entered  Breidafiord,  and  came  to  the  harbor 


1  It  was  west  with  regard  to  Norway,  the  people  being  accustomed  to  use 
this  expression. 

2  Killed  in  Ireland  in  a  battle,  1013. 


AMERICA  BY  THE  NORTHMEN.  91 

at  Dogurdarness.  The  same  autumn  he  went  to  Helgefell 
to  spend  the  winter  with  Snorre  the  Priest;  and  from 
that  time  he  was  called  Thorodd  the  Tribute  Taker. 
This  took  place  just  after  the  murder  of  Thorbiorn  the 
Fat.  During  the  same  winter,  Thurid,  the  sister  of  Snorre 
the  Priest,  who  had  been  the  wife  of  Thorbiorn  the  Fat, 
was  at  Helgefell.  Thorodd  made  proposals  of  marriage  to 
Snorre  the  Priest,  with  respect  to  Thurid.  Being  rich, 
and  known  by  Snorre  to  be  of  good  repute,  and  that  he 
would  be  useful  in  supporting  his  administration  of  affairs, 
he  consented.  Therefore  their  marriage  was  celebrated 
during  this  winter,  at  Snorre's  house,  at  Helgefell.  In  the 
following  spring,  Thorodd  aet  himself  up  at  Froda,  and 
was  thought  an  upright  man.  But  when  Thurid  went  'to 
Froda,  Biorn  Asbrandson  often  paid  her  visits,  and  it  was 
commonly  reported  that  he  had  corrupted  her  chastity. 
Thorodd  vainly  tried  to  put  an  end  to  these  visits.  At 
that  time  Thorodd  Wooden  Clog  lived  at  Arnahval.  His 
sons,  Ord  and  Val  were  men  grown  arid  youths  of  the 
greatest  promise.  The  men  blamed  Thorodd  for  allowing 
himself  to  be  insulted  so  greatly  by  Biorn,  and  offered 
him  their  aid,  if  desired,  to  end  his  coming.  It  chanced 
one  time  when  Biorn  came  to  Froda,  that  he  sat  with 
Thurid  talking.  It  was  Thorodd's  custom  when  Biorn 
was  there  to  sit  in  the  house.  But  he  was  now  nowhere 
to  be  seen.  Then  Thurid  said,  "  Take  care,  Biorn,  for  I 
fear  Thorodd  means  to  put  a  stop  to  your  visits  here ;  I 
think  he  has  secured  the  road,  and  means  to  attack  you, 
and  overpower  you  with  unequal  numbers."  Biorn  re 
plied,  "  That  is  possible,"  and  then  sang  these  verses : 

O  Goddess l  whom  bracelet  adorns, 
This  day  (I  linger 


1  Literally,  woman,  with  reference  to  Jord,  the  Earth,  one  of  the  wives  of 
Odin,  and  also  mother  of  Thor. 


92  PRE-COLUMBIAN  DISCOVERY  OF 

In  my  beloved's  arms) 
Stay  longest  in  the  heaveas, 
As  we  both  must  wish; 
For  I  this  night  am  drawn 
To  drink  myself  the  parentals  ' 
Of  my  oft-departing  joys. 

Having  done  this,  Biorn  took  his  weapons,  and  went  to 
return  home.  As  he  went  up  the  hill  Digramula,  five 
men  jumped  out  upon  him  from  their  hiding  place.  These 
were  Thorodd  and  two  of  his  men,  and  the  sons  of  Thoror 
Wooden  Clog.  They  attacked  Biorn,  but  he  defended 
himself  bravely  and  well.  The  sons  of  Thoror  pressed 
him  sharply,  but  he  slew  them  both.  Thorodd  then  fled 
with  his  men,  though  he  himself  had  only  a  slight  wound, 
and  the  others  not  any.  Biorn  went  on  until  he  reached 
home,  and  entered  the  house.  The  lady  of  the  house2 
ordered  a  maid  to  place  food  before  him.  When  the 
maid  came  into  the  room  with  the  light,  and  saw  Biorn 
wounded,  she  went  and  told  Asbrand  his  father,  that 
Biorn  had  returned,  covered  with  blood.  Asbrand  came 
into  the  room,  and  inquired  what  was  the  cause  of  his 
wounds.  He  said,  "  Have  you  and  Thorodd  had  a  fight !  " 
Biorn  replied  that  it  was  so.  Asbrand  asked  how  the 
affair  ended.  Boirn  replied  with  these  verses : 

Not  so  easy  against  a  brave  man 

It  is  to  fight ; 

(Wooden  Clog's  two  sons 

Now  I  have  slain). 

As  for  the  ship's  commander, 

A  woman  to  embrace, 

Or  for  the  cowardly, 

A  golden  tribute  to  buy.:{ 


funeral  cups. 

-  Biorn's  mother. 

3  This  is  a  fling  at  Thorodd  the  Tribute  Taker. 


AMERICA  BY  THE  NORTHMEN.  93 

Asbrand  bound  up  his  son's  wounds,  and  his  strength  was 
soon  restored.  Thorodd  went  to  Snorre  the  Priest,  to 
talk  with  him  about  setting  a  suit  on  foot  against  Biorn, 
on  account  of  the  killing  of  Thoror's  sons.  This  suit  was 
laid  in  the  court  of  Thorsnesthing.  It  was  settled  that 
Asbrand,  who  became  surety  for  his  son,  should  pay  the 
usual  fines.  Biorn  was  exiled  for  three  years,1  and  went 
abroad  the  same  summer.  During  that  summer,  a  son 
was  born  to  Thurid,  who  was  called  Kiarten.  He  grew 
up  at  home,  in  Froda,  and  early  gave  great  hope  and 
promise. 

When  Biorn  crossed  the  sea  he  came  into  Denmark, 
and  went  thence  to  Jomsberg.  At  that  time,  Palnatoki 
was  captain  of  the  Jomsberg2  Vikings.  Biorn  was 
admitted  into  the  crew,  and  won  the  name  of  the  Athlete. 
He  was  at  Jomsberg  when  Styrbiorn  the  Hardy,  assaulted 
it.  He  went  into  Sweden,  when  the  Jomsberg  Yikings 


1  This  shows,  that  while  Biorn  killed  the  men  in  self  defense,  it  was  the 
opinion  of  the  court  that  he  did  not  get  what  he  deserved. 

2  Jomsberg  was  the  head  quarters  of  an  order  of  vikings  or  pirates,  where 
a  castle  was  also  built  by  King  Harold  Blaatand,  of  Denmark.     It   was 
situated  on  one  of  the  outlets  of  the  Oder,  on  the  coast  of  Pomerania.     It 
was  probably  identical  with  Julian,  founded  by  the  Wends,  and  was  recog 
nized  as  the  island  of  Wallin,  which  Adam  of  Bremen,  in  the  eleventh 
century,  described  as  the  largest  and  most  flourishing  commercial  city  in 
Europe.      Burislaus,   king  of  the   Wends,   surrendered  the  neighboring 
territory  into  the  hands  of  Palnatoki,  a  great  chief  of  Fionia,  who  was 
pledged  to  his  support.     Accordingly  he  built   a  stronghold  here,  and 
organized  a  band  of  pirates,  commonly  called  vikings,  though  it  must  be 
observed,  that  while  every  viking  was  a  pirate,  every  pirate   was  not  a 
viking.     Only  those  pirates  of  princely  blood,  were  properly  called  vikings, 
or  sea-kings.     The  Jomsvikings  were  distinguished  for  their  rare  courage, 
and  for  the  fearlessness  with  which  they  faced  death.     They  were  governed 
by  strict  laws,  and  hedged  about  by  exact  requirements,  and  were  also,  it  is 
said,  pledged  to  celibacy.     Jomsberg  was  destroyed  about  the  year  1175, 
by  Waldemar  the  Great,  of  Denmark,  aided  by  the  princes  of  Germany  and 
the  king  of  Barbarrossa.     Those  of  the  pirates  who  survived,  escaped  to  a 
place  near  the  mouth  of  the  Elbe,  where   a  few  years  after,  they  were 


94  PKE-COLUMBIAN  DISCOVERY  OF 

aided  Styrbiorn ; l  he  was  in  the  battle  of  Tynsvall,  in 
which  Styrbiorn  was  killed,  and  escaped  with  the  other 
Jonas-vikings  in  the  woods.  While  Palnatoki  lived,  Biorn 

O 

remained  with  him,  distinguished  among  all,  as  a  man  of 
remarkable  courage. 

The  same  summer  [A.  D.  996.]  the  brothers,  Biorn  and 
Arnbiorn.  returned  into  Iceland  to  Ronhavnsos.  Biorn 
was  always  afterwards  called  the  Athlete  of  Breidavik. 
Arnbiorn,  who  had  gotten  much  wealth  abroad,  bought  the 
Bakka  estate  in  Raunhavn,  the  same  summer.  He  lived 
there  with  little  show  or  ostentation,  arid  in  most  affairs 
was  silent,  but  was,  nevertheless,  a  man  active  in  all 
things.  Biorn,  his  brother,  after  his  return  from  abroad, 
lived  in  splendor  and  elegance,  for  during  his  absence,  he 
had  truly  adopted  the  manners  of  courtiers.  He  much 
excelled  Arnbiorn  in  personal  appearance,  and  was  none 
the  less  active  in  execution.  He  was  far  more  expert  than 
his  brother  in  martial  exercises,  having  improved  much 
abroad.  The  same  summer  after  his  return,  there  was  a 
general  meeting  near  Headbrink,2  within  the  bay  of  Froda. 
All  the  merchants  rode  thither,  clothed  in  colored  gar 
ments,  and  there  was  a  great  assembly.  Housewife 


annihilated  by  the  Danes,  who  in  the  reign  of  Canute  VI,  completely 
destroyed  their  stronghold.  Accounts  of  their  achievements  may  be  found 
in  the  Saga  of  King  Olaf  Tryggvesson,  in  vol.  I,  of  Laing's  Heimskringla. 
The  Icelanders  sometimes  joined  the  Norway  pirates,  as  was  the  case 
with  Biorn,  but  they  did  not  fit  out  pirate  ships.  Palnatoki  died  in  the 
year  993. 

1  Styrbiorn,  son  of  King  Olaf,  ruled  Sweden  in  connection  with  Eric, 
called  the  Victorious.  Styrbiorn's  ambition,  to  which  was  added  the 
crime  of  murder,  led  to  his  disgrace.  He  joined  the  vikings,  adding  sixty 
ships  to  their  force.  He  was  killed,  as  stated,  in  984,  in  a  battle  with  his 
uncle  near  Upsula. 

2Dasent  says  in  describing  the  coast:  "Now  we  near  the  stupendous 
crags  of  Hofdabrekka,  Headbrink,  where  the  mountains  almost  stride  into 
the  main." 


AMERICA  BY  THE  NORTHMEN.  95 

Thurid,  of  Froda,  was  there,  with  whom  Biorn  began  to 
talk ;  no  one  censuring,  because  they  expected  their  con 
versation  would  be  long,  as  they  had  not  seen  each  other 
for  a  great  while.  On  the  same  day  there  was  a  fight,  and 
one  of  the  Nordenfield  men  was  mortally  wounded,  and  was 
carried  down  under  a  bush  on  the  beach;  so  much  blood 
flowed  out  of  the  wound,  that  there  was  a  large  pool  of 
blood  in  the  bush.  The  boy  Kiarten,  Thurid  of  Froda's 
son,  was  there  ;  he  had  a  little  axe  in  his  hand,  and  ran  to 
the  bush  and  dipped  the  axe  in  the  blood.  When  the 
Sondensfield's  men  rode  from  the  beach  south,  Thord 
Blig  asked  Biorn  how  the  conversation  between  him  and 
Thurid  of  Froda,  ended.  Biorn  said  that  he  was  well 
satisfied.  Then  Thord  asked  if  he  had  seen  the  boy 
Kiarten,  their  and  Thorodd's  son.  "  I  saw  him,"  said 
Biorn  :  "  What  is  your  opinion  of  him  ? "  asked  Thord. 
Biorn  answered  with  the  following  song : 

"  I  saw  a  boy  run 
With  fearful  eyes, 
The  woman's  image,  to 
The  wolf's  well  1  in  the  wood; 
People  will  say, 
That  his  true  father  [was] 
He  that  ploughed  the  sea, 
This  the  boy  does  not  know." 

Thord  said  :  "  What  will  Thorodd  say  when  he  hears  that 
the  boy  belongs  to  you  ?  "  Then  Biorn  sung : 

"  Then  will  the  noble  born  woman  [make] 
Thorodd's  suspicion 
Come  true,  when  she  gives  me 
The  same  kind  of  sons; 


Referring  to  the  dead  man's  blood. 


96  PRE-COLUMBIAN  DISCOVERY  OF 

Always  the  slender, 
Snow-white  woman  loved  me, 
I  still  to  her 
Am  a  lover." 

Thord  said,  it  will  be  best  for  you  not  to  have  anything 
to  do  with  each  other,  and  that  you  turn  your  thoughts. 
"It  is  certainly  a  good  idea,"  said  Biorn,  "but  it  is  far 
from  my  intention  ;  though  there  is  some  difference  when 
I  have  to  do  with,  such  men  as  her  brother  Snorre." 
"  You  must  take  care  of  your  own  business,"  said  Thord, 
and  that  ended  their  talk.  Biorn  afterwards  went  home 
to  Kamb,  and  took  the  affairs  of  the  family  into  his  own 
hands,  for  his  father  was  now  dead.  The  following 
winter  he  determined  to  make  a  journey  over  the  hills,  to 
Thurid.  Although  Thorodd  disliked  this,  he  nevertheless 
saw  that  it  was  not  easy  to  prevent  its  occurrence,  since 
before  he  -  was  defeated  by  him,  and  Biorn  was  much 
stronger,  and  more  skilled  in  arms  than  before.  There 
fore  he  bribed  Thorgrim  Graldrakin  to  raise  a  snow  storm 
against  Biorn  when  he  crossed  the  hills.  When  a  day 
came,  Biorn  made  a  journey  to  Froda.  When  he  pro 
posed  to  return  home,  the  sky  was  dark  and  the  snow 
storm  began.  When  he  ascended  the  hills,  the  cold 
became  intense,  and  the  snow  fell  so  thickly  that  he  could 
not  see  his  way.  Soon  the  strength  of  the  storm  increased 
so  much  that  he  could  hardly  walk.  His  clothes,  already 
wet  through,  froze  around  his  body,  and  he  wandered,  he 
did  not  know  where.  In  the  course  of  the  night  he 
reached  a  cave,  and  in  this  cold  house  he  passed  the  night. 
Then  Biorn  sung: 

"  Woman  that  bringest 
Vestments, '  would 
Not  like  my 
Dwelling  in  such  a  storm 

1  In  Iceland  the  women  are  accustomed  to  bring  travelers  dry  clothes. 


AMERICA  BY  THE  NORTHMEN.  97 

If  she  knew  that 
He  who  before  steered  ships, 
Now  in  the  rock  cave 
Lay  stiff  and  cold." 

Again  he  sang : 

"  The  cold  field  of  the  swans, 
From  the  east  with  loaded  ship  I  ploughed, 
Because  the  woman  inspired  me  with  love ; 
I  know  that  I  have  great  trouble  suffered, 
And  now,  for  a  time,  the  hero  is, 
Not  in  a  woman's  bed,  but  in  a  cave." 

Biorn  stayed  three  days  in  the  cave,  before  the  storm 
subsided ;  and  on  the  fourth  day  he  came  home  from  the 
mountain  to  Kamb.  He  was  very  weary.  The  domestic 
asked  him  where  he  was  during  the  storm.  Biorn  sung : 

"  My  deeds  under 

Styrbiorn's  proud  banner  are  known. 
It  came  about  that  steel-clad  Eric 
Slew  men  in  battle ; 
Now  I  on  the  wide  heath, 
Lost  my  way  [and], 
Could  not  in  the  witch-strong 
Storm,  find  the  road."  l 

Biorn  passed  the  rest  of  the  winter  at  home ;  the  following 
spring  his  brother  Arnbiorn  fixed  his  abode  in  Bakka,  in 
Raunhafn,  but  Biorn  lived  at  Kamb,  and  had  a  grand 

house 

This  same  summer,  Thorodd  the  Tribute  Taker  invited 
Snorre  the  Priest,  his  kinsman,  to  a  feast  at  his  house  in 
Froda.  Snorre  went  there  with  twenty  men.  In  the 


1  All  of  these  verses  are  extremely  obscure  and  elliptical,  though  far  more 
intelligible  to  the  modern  mind  than  the  compositions  which  belonged  to 
a  still  older  period.     All  the  chief  men  of  Iceland  practiced  the  composition  of 
13 


98  PRE-COLUMBIAN  DISCOVERY  OF 

course  of  the  feast,  Thorodd  told  Snorre  how  much  he 
was  hurt  and  disgraced  by  the  visits  of  Biorn  Asbrandson, 
to  Thurid,  his  wife,  Snorre's  sister,  saying  that  it  was  right 
for  Snorre  to  do  away  with  this  scandal.  Snorre  after 
passing  some  days  feasting  with  Thorodd  went  home  with 
many  presents.  Then  Snorre  the  Priest  rode  over  the 
hills  and  spread  the  report  that  he  was  going  down  to  his 
ship  in  the  bay  of  Raunhafn.  This  happened  in  summer, 
in  the  time  of  haymaking.  When  he  had  gone  as  far 
south  as  the  Kambian  hills,  Snorre  said:  "Now  let  us 
ride  back  from  the  hills  to  Kamb ;  let  it  be  known  to  you," 
he  added,  "  what  I  wish  to  do.  I  have  resolved  to  attack 
and  destroy  Biorn.  But  I  am  not  willing  to  attack  and 
destroy  him  in  his  house,  for  it  is  a  strong  one,  and  Biorn 
is  stout  and  active,  while  our  number  is  small.  Even  those 
who  with  greater  numbers,  have  attacked  brave  men  in 
their  houses,  have  fared  badly  ;  an  example  of  which  you 
know  in  the  case  of  Gissur  the  White ;  who,  when  with 
eighty  men,  they  attacked  Gunnar1  of  Lithend,  alone  in 
his  house,  many  were  wounded  and  many  were  killed,  and 
they  would  have  been  compelled  to  give  up  the  attack,  if 
Geir  the  Priest  had  not  learned  that  Gunnar  was  short  of 
arrows.  Therefore,"  said  he,  "  as  we  may  expect  to  find 
Biorn  out  of  doors,  it  being  the  time  of  haymaking,  I 
appoint  you  rny  kinsman,  Mar,  to  give  him  the  first 
wound;  but  I  would  have  you  know  this,  that  there  is  no 
room  for  child's  play,  and  you  must  expect  a  contest  with 
a  hungry  wolf,  unless  your  first  wound  shall  be  his  death 
blow."  As  they  rode  from  the  hills  towards  his  homestead, 
they  saw  Biorn  in  the  fields;,  he  was  making  a  sledge,2 


verse.     Chaucer  makes  his  Parson  apologize  for  his  inability  to  imitate  the 
practice. 

1  See  the  Saga  of  Burnt  Nial. 

2  These  sledges  were  used  in  drawing  hay,  as  the  roads  were  then,  as 
now,  too  poor  for  carts. 


AMERICA  BY  THE  NORTHMEN.  99 

and  no  one  was  near  him.  He  had  no  weapon  but  a  small 
axe,  and  a  large  knife  in  his  hand  of  a  span's  length,  which 
he  used  to  round  the  holes  in  the  sledge.  Biorn  saw 
Snorre  riding  down  from  the  hills,  and  recognized  them. 
Snorre  the  Priest  had  on  a  blue  cloak,  and  rode  first.  The 
idea  suddenly  occurred  to  Biorn,  that  he  ought  to  take  his 
knife  and  go  as  fast  as  he  could  to  meet  them,  and  as 
soon  as  he  reached  them,  lay  hold  of  the  sleeve  of  Snorre 
with  one  hand,  and  hold  the  knife  in  the  other,  so  that  he 
might  be  able  to  pierce  Snorre  to  the  heart,  if  he  saw  that 
his  own  safety  required  it.  Going  to  meet  them,  Biorn 
gave  them  hail?  and  Snorre  returned  the  salute.  The 
hands  of  Mar  fell,  for  he  saw  that  if  he  attacked  Biorn,  the 
latter  would  at  once  kill  Snorre.  Then  Biorn  walked 
along  with  Snorre  and  his  comrades,  asked  what  was  the 
news,  keeping  his  hands  as  at  first.  Then  he  said :  "  I 
will  not  try  to  conceal,  neighbor  Snorre,  that  my  present 
attitude  and  look  seem  threatening  to  you,  which  might 
appear  wrong,  but  for  that  I  have  understood  that  your 
coming  is  hostile.  Now  I  desire  that  if  you  have  any 
business  to  transact  with  me,  you  will  take  another  course 
than  the  one  you  intended,  and  that  you  will  transact  it 
openly.  If  none,  I  will  that  you  make  peace,  which  when 
done,  I  will  return  to  my  work,  as  I  do  not  wish  to  be  led 
about  like  a  fool."  Snorre  replied:  "  Our  meeting  has  so 
turned  out  that  we  shall  at  this  time  part  in  the  same 
peace  as  before ;  but  I  desire  to  get  a  pledge  from  you, 
that  from  this  time  you  will  leave  off  visiting  Thurid, 
because  if  you  go  on  in  this,  there  can  never  be  any  real 
friendship  between  us."  Biorn  replied  :  "  This  I  will 
promise,  and  will  keep  it;  but  I  do  not  know  how  I  shall 
be  able  to  keep  it,  so  long  as  Thurid  and  Hive  in  the  same 
land."  "  There  is  nothing  so  great  binding  you  here," 
said  Snorre,  "  as  to  keep  you  from  going  to  some  other 
land."  "  What  you  now  say  is  true,"  replied  Biorn,  "  and 


100  PRE-COLUMBIAN  DISCOVERY  OF 

so  let  it  be,  and  let  our  meeting  end  with  this  pledge,  that 
neither  you  nor  Thorodd  shall  have  any  trouble  from  my 
visits  to  Thurid,  in  the  next  year."  With  this  they 
parted.  Snorre  the  Priest  rode  down  to  his  ship,  and 
then  went  home  to  Helgefell.  The  day  after,  Biorn  rode 
south  to  Raunhafn,  and  engaged  his  passage  in  a  ship  for 
the  same  summer.  [A.  D.  999.]  When  all  was  ready 
they  set  sail  with  a  northeast  wind  which  blew  during  the 
greater  part  of  that  summer.  Nothing  was  heard  of  the 
fate  of  the  ship  for  a  very  long  time.1 


III.  GUDLEIF  GUDLAUGSOK 

This  narrative,  which  shows  what  became  of  Biorn 
Asbrandson,  whose  adventures  are  partially  related  in  the 
previous  sketch,  is  from  the  Eyrbyggia  Saga.  Notwith 
standing  the  somewhat  romantic  character  of  these  two 
narratives,  there  can  be  no  doubt  but  that  they  are  true 
histories.  "Yfct  that  they  relate  to  events  in  America,  is 
not  altogether  so  certain. 


There  was  a  man  named  Gudleif,  the  son  of  Gudlaug 
the  Eich,  of  Straumfiord  and  brother  of  Thorfinn,  from 
whom  the  Sturlingers  are  descended.  Gudleif  was  a  great 
merchant.  He  had  a  trading  vessel,  and  Thorolf  Eyrar 
Loptson  had  another,  when  they  fought  with  Gy rid,  son  of 
Sigvald  Earl.  Gyrid  lost  an  eye  in  that  fight.  It  took 
place  near  the  end  of  the  reign  of  King  Olaf  the  Saint,  that 
Gudleif  went  on  a  trading  voyage  to  the  west  to  Dublin. 


1This  is  the  only  paragraph  which   applies  directly  to  the  subject  in 
hand.     The  following  narrative  will  bring  Biorn  to  notice  again. 


AMERICA  BY  THE  NORTHMEN.  1Q1 

On  his  return  to  Iceland,  sailing  from  the  west  of  Ireland, 
he  met  with  northeast  winds,  and  was  driven  far  into  the 
ocean  west,  and  southwest,  so  that  no  land  was  seen,  the 
summer  being  now  nearly  gone.  Many  prayers  were  offered 
that  they  might  escape  from  the  sea.  At  length  they  saw 
land.  It  was  of  great  extent,  but  they  did  not  know  what 
land  it  was.  They  took  counsel  and  resolved  to  make  for 
the  land,  thinking  it  unwise  to  contend  with  the  violence 
of  the  sea.  They  found  a  good  harbor,  and  soon  after 
they  went  ashore,  a  number  of  men  came  down  to  them. 
They  did  not  recognize  the  people,  but  thought  that  their 
language  resembled  the  Irish.1  In  a  short  time  such  a 
number  of  men  had  gathered  around  them  as  numbered 
many  hundred.  These  attacked  them  and  bound  them 
all  and  drove  them  inland.  Afterwards  they  were  brought 
before  an  assembly,  and  it  was  considered  what  should  be 
done  with  them.  They  thought  that  some  wished  to  kill 
and  that  others  were  for  dividing  them  among  the  villages 
as  slaves.  While  this  was  going  on,  they  saw  a  great 
number  of  men  riding2  towards  them  with  a  banner  con 
spicuously  lifted  up,  whence  they  inferred  that  some  great 
man  was  among  -them.  And  when  the  company  drew 
near,  they  saw  a  man  riding  under  the  banner,  tall  and 
with  a  martial  air,  aged  and  grayhaired.  All  present 
treated  this  man  with  the  utmost  honor  and  deference. 
They  soon  saw  that  their  case  was  referred  to  the  decision 
of  this  man.  He  commanded  Gudleif  and  his  comrades 
to  be  brought  before  him,  and  coming  into  his  presence 
he  addressed  them  in  the  Northern  tongue,  and  asked  from 


1  Few  persons  will  infer  much  from  this;   nothing  is  easier  than  to  find 
resemblances  in  language. 

2  The  language  indicates  that  they  were  riding  horseback,  though  it  is 
not  conclusive.     And  at  the  period  referred  to,  there  were  no  horses  in 
America,  they  having  been  introduced  by  the  Spaniards,  after  the  discovery 
by  Columbus.     At  least,  such  is  the  common  opinion. 


102  PRE-COLUMBIAN  DISCOVERY  OF 

what  land  they  came.  They  replied  that  the  chief  part 
were  Icelanders.  The  man  asked  which  of  them  were 
Icelanders.  Gudleif  declared  himself  to  be  an  Icelander, 
and  saluted  the  old  man,  which  he  received  kindly,  and 
asked  what  part  of  Iceland  he  came  from.  He  replied 
that  he  came  from  the  district  some  called  Bogafiord. 
He  asked  who  lived  in  Bogafiord,  to  which  Gudleif 
replied  at  some  length.  Afterwards  this  man  inquired 
particularly  about  all  the  principal  men  of  Bogafiord  and 
Breidafiord ;  and  of  these  he  inquired  with  special  interest 
into  everything  relating  to  Snorre  the  Priest,  and  of  his 
sister  Thurid,  of  Froda,  and  for  the  great  Kiarten,  her  son. 
In  the  meanwhile  the  natives  grew  impatient  about  the 
disposition  of  the  sailors.  Afterwards  the  great  man  left 
him  and  took  twelve  of  the  natives  apart,  and  conferred 
with  them.  Afterwards  he  returned.  Then  the  old  man 
spoke  to  Gudleif  and  his  comrades,  and  said  :  "  "We  have 
had  some  debate  concerning  you,  and  the  people  have  left 
the  matter  to  my  decision ;  I  now  permit  you  to  go  where 
you  will,  and  although  summer  is  nearly  gone,  I  advise  you 
to  leave  at  once ;  for  these  people  are  of  bad  faith,  and  hard 
to  deal  with,  and  now  think  they  have  been  deprived  of 
their  right."  Then  Gudleif  asked,  "  Who  shall  we  say,  if 
we  reach  our  own  country  again,  to  have  given  us  our 
liberty?"  He  replied:  "That,  I  will  not  tell  you,  for  I 
am  not  willing  that  any  of  my  friends  or  kindred  should 
come  here,  and  meet  with  such  a  fate  as  you  would  have 
met,  but  for  me.  Age  now  comes  on  so  fast,  that  I  may 
almost  expect  any  hour  to  be  my  last.  Though  I  may 
live  some  time  longer,  there  are  other  men  of  greater 
influence  than  myself,  though  now  at  some  distance  from 
this  place,  and  these  would  not  grant  safety  or  peace  to 
any  strange  men."  Then  he  looked  to  the  fitting  out  of 
their  ship,  and  stayed  at  this  place  until  a  fair  wind  sprang 
up,  so  that  they  might  leave  the  port.  Before  they  weftt 


AMERICA  BY  THE  NORTHMEN.  1Q3 

away,  this  man  took  a  gold  ring  from  his  hand  and  gave 
it  to  Gudleif,  and  also  a  good  sword.  Then  he  said  to 
Gudleif:  -'If  fortune  permits  you  to  reach  Iceland,  give 
this  sword  to  Kiarten,  hero  of  Froda,  and  this  ring  to 
Thurid,  his  mother."  Gudleif  asked,  "  Who  shall  I  say 
was  the  sender  of  this  valuable  gift?  "  He  replied :  "  Say 
that  he  sent  it  who  loved  the  lady  of  Froda,  better  than 
her  brother,  the  Priest  of  Helgafell.  And  if  any  man 
desires  to  know  who  sent  this  valuable  gift,  repeat  my 
words,  that  I  forbid  any  one  to  seek  me,  for  it  is  a  danger 
ous  voyage,  unless  others  should  meet  with  the  same 
fortune  as  you.  This  region  is  large,  but  has  few  good 
ports,  and  danger  threatens  strangers  on  all  sides  from  the 
people,  unless  it  shall  fall  to  others  as  yourselves."  After 
this  they  separated.  Gudleif,  with  his  comrades,  went  to 
sea,  and  reached  Ireland  the  same  autumn,  and  passed  the 
winter  in  Dublin.  The  next  spring  they  sailed  to  Iceland, 
and  Gudleif  delivered  the  jewel  into  the  hand  of  Thurid. 
It  was  commonly  believed  that  there  was  no  doubt  but 
that  the  man  seen,  was  Biorn  Breidaviking  Kappa.  And 
there  is  no  other  reliable  report  to  prove  this. 


IV.    ALLUSIONS   TO   VOYAGES  FOUND  IN 
ANCIENT  MANUSCRIPTS. 

Professor  Rafn,  in  Antiquitates  Americana,  gives  brief 
notices  of  numerous  Icelandic  voyages  to  America,  and 
other  lands  at  the  west,  of  which  there  is  now  no  record. 
The  works  in  which  they  are  found  are  of  the  highest 
respectability.  It  is  only  necessary  here  to  give  the  facts, 
which  have  been  collected  with  much  care.  They  show 
that  the  pre-Columbian  discovery  of  America  has  tinged 


104  PRE-COLUMBIAN  DISCOVERY  OF 

nearly  the  whole  body  of  Icelandic  history,  in  which  the 
subject  is  referred  to,  not  as  a  matter  of  doubt,  but  as 
something  perfectly  well  known.  All  these  revelations 
combine  to  furnish  indisputable  proof  of  the  positions 
maintained  in  this  work,  showing  as  they  do,  beyond  all 
reasonable  question,  that  the  impression  which  so  generally 
prevailed  in  regard  to  the  discovery  of  this  land,  was  not  the 
result  of  a  literary  fraud.  Some  of  the  facts  are  given 
below : 

1121.    Eric,  Bishop  of  Greenland,1  went  to  search  out  Vinland. 

Bishop  Eric  Upse  sought  Vinland. 
1285.    A  new  land  is  discovered  west  from  Iceland. 

New  land  is  found 2 

Adalbrand  and  Thorvald,  the  sons  of  Helge,  found  the  new 
land. 

Adalbrand  and  Thorvald  found  new  land  west  of  Iceland. 

The  Feather  3  Islands  are  discovered. 

1288.  Rolf  is  sent  by  King  Eric  to  serarch  out  the  new  land,  and 

called  on  people  of  Iceland  to  go  with  him. 

1289.  King  Eric  sends  Rolf  to  Iceland  to  seek  out  the  new  land. 

1290.  Rolf  traveled  through  Iceland,  and  called  out  men   for  a 

voyage  to  the  new  land.1 


1  This  is  found  in  Annales  Islandorum  Regii,  which  gives  the  history  of 
Iceland  from  the  beginning  down  to  1307.     Also  in  Annales  Flateyensis, 
and  in  Annales  Reseniini.    Eric  was  appointed  bishop  of  Greenland,  but 
performed  no  duties  after  his  consecration,  and  eventually  resigned  that 
see,  in  order  to  undertake  the  mission  to  Vinland.     He  is  also  spoken  of  in 
two  works,  as  going  to  Vinland  with  the  title  of  Bishop  of  Greenland,  a 
title  which  he  had  several  years  before  his  actual  consecration. 

2  The  manuscript  is  deficient  here. 

3  The  Feather  Islands  are  mentioned  in  the  Logmanns  Annall,  or,  Annals 
of  the  Governors  of  Iceland,  and  Annales  Skalholtini,  or  Annals  of  the 
Bishopric  of  Skalholt,  written  in  the  middle  of  the  fourteenth  century,  long 
before  Columbus  went  to  Iceland.     Beamish  suggests  that  these  are  the 
Penguin  and  Bacaloa  Islands. 

4 "  The  notices  of  Nyja  land  and  Duneyjar,  would  seem  to  refer  to  a 
re-discovery  of  some  parts  of  the  eastern  coast  of  America,  which  had  been 


AMERICA  BY  THE  NORTHMEN.  105 

1295.    Landa-Rolf  died. 

1357.  There  came  thirteen  large  ships  to  Iceland.  Eindride- 
suden  was  wrecked  in  East  Borgafiord,  near  Langeness. 
The  crew  and  the  greater  part  of  the  cargo  was  saved. 
Bessalangen  was  wrecked  outside  of  Sida.  Of  its  crew, 
Haldor  Magre  and  Gunthorm  Stale,  and  nineteen  men 
altogether,  were  drowned.  The  cargo  suffered  also.  There 
were  also  six  ships  driven  back.  There  came  likewise  a 
ship  from  Greenland, l  smaller  than  the  smallest  of  Ice 
land  ships,  that  came  in  the  outer  bay.  It  had  lost  its 
anchor.  There  were  seventeen  men  on  board,  who  had 
gone  to  Markland,'2  and  on  their  return  were  drifted  here. 
But  here  altogether  that  winter,  were  eighteen  large  ships, 
besides  the  two  that  were  wrecked  in  the  summer. 
There  came  a  ship  from  Greenland  that  had  sailed  to  Mark- 
land,  and  there  were  eight  men  on  board. 


V.  GEOGRAPHICAL  FRAGMENTS. 

The  first  of  these  documents  is  from  a  work  which  pro 
fesses  to  give  a  description  of  the  earth  in  the  middle  age. 
From  this  it  appears  that  the  Icelanders  had  a  correct  idea 
of  the  location  of  Yinland  in  New  England,  though  they 
did  not  comprehend  the  fact  that  they  had  discovered  a 


previously  visited  by  earlier  voyagers.  The  original  appellation  of  Nyja 
land,  or  Nyjafundu-land,  would  have  naturally  led  to  the  modern  English 
name  of  Newfoundland,  given  by  Cabot,  to  whose  knowledge  the  discovery 
would  [might  ?]  have  come  through  the  medium  of  the  commercial  inter 
course  between  England  and  Iceland  in  the  fifteenth  century." — Beamish. 

1  See  the  Decline  of  Greenland,  in  Introduction. 

2  Markland  (Woodland)  was  Nova  Scotia,  as  we  know  from  the  descrip 
tion  of  Leif  and  others.     These  vessels  doubtless  went  to  get  timber.     All 
these  accounts  show  that  the  Western  ocean  was  generally  navigated  in  the 
middle  of  the  fourteenth  century. 

14 


106,  PRE-COLUMBIAN  DISCOVERY  OF 

new  Continent.  The  document  may  be  found  in  Antiqui- 
tates  Americana*,  p.  283.  In  the  appendix  of  that  work  may 
be  seen  a  foe  simile  of  the  original  manuscript.  The  second 
document  is  from  (Antiqaitates  Americanos,  p.  292).  It  was 
found  originally  in  the  miscellaneous  collection  called  the 
Gripla. 


A  BRIEF  DESCRIPTION  OF  THE  WHOLE  EARTH. 

The  earth  is  said  to  be  divided  into  three  parts.  One  of 
these  is  called  Asia,  and  extends  from  northeast  to  south 
west,  and  occupies  the  middle  of  the  earth.  In  the  eastern 
part  are  three  separate  regions,  called  Indialand.  In  the 
farthest  India,  the  Apostle  Bartholomew  preached  the 
faith;  and  where  he  likewise  gave  up  his  life  (for  the  name 
of  Christ).  In  the  nearest  India,  the  Apostle  Thomas 
preached,  and  there  also  he  suffered  death  for  the  cause 
of  God.  In  that  part  of  the  earth  called  Asia,  is  the  city 
of  Nineveh,  greatest  of  all  cities.  It  is  three  days'  journey 
in  length  and  one  day's  journey  in  breadth.  There  is  also 
the  city  of  Babylon,  ancient  and  very  large.  There  King 
Nebuchadnezzar  formerly  reigned,  but  now  that  city  is  so 
thoroughly  destroyed  that  it  is  not  inhabited  by  men,  on 
account  of  serpents  and  all  manner  of  noxious  creatures. 
In  Asia  is  Jerusalem,  and  also  Antioch;  in  this  city  Peter 
the  Apostle  founded  an  Episcopal  seat,  arid  where  he,  the 
first  of  all  men,  sang  Mass.  Asia  Minor  is  a  region  of 
Great  Asia.  There  the  Apostle  John  preached,  and  there 
also,  in  the  city  Ephesus,  is  his  tomb.  They  say  that  four 
rivers  flow  out  of  Paradise.  One  is  called  Pison  or  Ganges ; 
this  empties  into  the  sea  surrounding  the  world.  Pison 
rises  under  a  mountain  called  Orcobares.  The  second  river 
flowing  from  Paradise,  is  called  Tigris,  and  the  third,  Eu 
phrates.  Both  empty  into  the  Mediterranean  (sea),  near 


AMERICA  BY  THE  NORTHMEN.  107 

Antioch,  The  Nile,  also  called  Geon,  is  the  fourth  river  that 
runs  from  Paradise.  It  separates  Asia  from  Africa,  andflows 
through  the  whole  of  Egypt.  In  Egypt  is  New  Babylon 
(Cairo),  and  the  city  called  Alexandria.  The  second  part 
of  the  earth  is  called  Africa,  which  extends  from  the  south 
west  to  the  northwest.  There  are  Serkland,  and  three 
regions  called  Blaland  (land  of  blackmen  or  negroes).  The 
Mediterranean  sea  divides  Europe  from  Africa.  Europe  is 
the  third  part  of  the  earth,  extended  from  west  and  northwest 
to  the  northeast.  In  the  east  of  Europe  is  the  kingdom  of 
Russia.  There  are  Holmgard,  Palteskia  and  Smalenskia. 
South  of  Russia  lies  the  kingdom  of  Greece.  Of  this  king 
dom,  the  chief  city  is  Constantinople,  which  our  people  call 
Miklagard.  In  Miklagard  is  a  church,  which  the  people 
call  St.  Sophia,  but  the  Northmen  call  it  ^Egisif.  This 
church  exceeds  all  the  other  churches  in  the  world,  both  as 
respects  its  structure  and  size.  Bulgaria  and  a  great  many 
islands,  called  the  Greek  islands,  belong  to  the  kingdom 
of  Greece.  Crete  and  Cyprus  are  the  most  noted  of  the 
Greek  islands.  Sicily  is  a  great  kingdom  in  that  part  of 
the  earth  called  Europe.  Italy  is  a  country  south  of  the 
great  ridge  of  mountains,  called  by  us  Mundia  [Alps].  In 
the  remotest  part  of  Italy  is  Apulia,  called  by  the  North 
men,  Pulsland.  In  the  middle  of  Italy  is  Rome.  In 
the  north  of  Italy  is  Lombardy,  which  we  call  Lombard- 
land.  North  of  the  mountains  on  the  east,  is  Germany, 
and  on  the  southwest  is  France.  Hispania,  which  we  call 
Spainland,  is  a  great  kingdom  that  extends  south  to  the 
Mediterranean,  between  Lombardy  and  France.  The 
Rhine  is  a  great  river  that  runs  north  from  Mundia, 
between  Germany  and  France.  Near  the  outlets  of  the 
Rhine  is  Friesland,  ^©rthward  from  the  sea.  North  of 
Germany  is  Denmark.  The  ocean  runs  into  the  Baltic 
sea,  near  Denmark.  Sweden  lies  east  of  Denmark,  and 
Norway  at  the  north.  North  of  Norway  is  Finnmark. 


108  PRE-COLUMBIAN  DISCOVERY  OF 

The  coast  bends  thence  to  the  northeast,  and  then  towards 
the  east,  until  it  reaches  Permia,  which  is  tributary  to 
Russia.  From  Permia,  desert  tracts  extend  to  the  north, 
reaching  as  far  as  Greenland.  Beyond  Greenland,  south 
ward,  is  Helluland;  beyond  that  is  Markland;  from  thence 
it  is  not  far  to  Yinland,  which  some  men  are  of  the  opinion, 
extends  to  Africa.1  England  and  Scotland  are  one  island  ; 
but  each  is  a  separate  kingdom.  Ireland  is  a  great  island. 
Iceland  is  also  a  great  island  north  of  Ireland.  All  these 
countries  are  situated  in  that  part  of  the  world  called 
Europe.  Next  to  Denmark  is  Lesser  Sweden ;  then  is 
Oeland,  then  Gottland,  then  Helsingeland,  then  Yerme- 
land,  and  the  two  Kvendlands,  which  lie  north  of  Biarme- 
land.  From  Biarmeland  stretches  desert  land  towards  the 
north,  until  Greenland  begins.  South  of  Greenland  is 
Helluland ;  next  is  Markland,  from  thence  it  is  not  far  to 
Yinland  the  Good,  which  some  think  goes  out  to  Africa; 
and  if  this  is  so,  the  sea  muot  extend  between  Yinland  and 
Markland.  It  is  told  that  Thorfinn  Karlsefne  cut  wood 
here  to  ornament  his  house,2  went  afterwards  to  seek  out 
Yinland  the  Good,  and  came  there  where  they  thought 
the  land  was,  but  did  not  reach  it,  and  got  none  of  the 
wealth  of  the  land.3  Leif  the  Lucky  first  discovered 
Yinland,  and  then  he  met  some  merchants  in  distress  at 
sea,  and  by  God's  grace,  saved  their  lives ;  and  he  intro 
duced  Christianity  into  Greenland,  and  it  flourished  so 
there  that  an  Episcopal  seat  was  set  up  in  the  place,  called 


1  In  the  face  of  this  and  a  multitude  of  similar  statements,  Mr.  Bancroft 
endeavors  to  make  his  readers  believe  that  the  locality  of  Vinland  was 
uncertain.     He  might,  with  equal  propriety,  tell  us  that  the  location  of 
Massachusetts  itself  was  uncertain,  because,  according  to  the  original  grant, 
it  extended  to  the  Pacific  ocean. 

2  See  note  1,  p.  81. 

3  This  is  a  blunder.     The  writer  must  have  been  more  of  a  geographer 
than  historian.     See  the  Saga  of  Leif,  p.  36. 


AMERICA  BY  THE  NORTHMEN.  1Q9 

Gardar.  England  and  Scotland  are  an  island,  and  yet 
each  is  a  separate  kingdom.  Ireland  is  a  great  island. 
These  countries  are  all  in  that  part  of  the  world  called 
Europe. 

FROM  GRIPLA. 

Bavaria  is  bounded  by  Saxony ;  Saxony  is  bounded  by 
Holstein,  and  next  is  Denmark.  The  sea  runs  between 
the  eastern  countries.  Sweden  is  east  of  Denmark.  Nor 
way  is  to  the  north ;  Finmark  is  east  of  Norway ;  from 
thence  the  land  extends  to  the  northeast  and  east,  until 
you  come  to  Biarmeland ;  this  land  is  under  tribute  to 
Gardaridge.  From  Biarmeland  lie  desert  places  all  north 
ward  to  the  land  which  is  called  Greenland,  [which,  how 
ever,  the  Greenlanders  do  not  affirm,  but  believe  to  have 
seen  it  otherwise,  both  from  drift  timber,  that  is  known 
and  cut  down  by  men,  and  also  from  reindeer  which  have 
marks  upon  their  ears,  or  bands  upon  their  horns,  like 
wise  from  sheep  which  stray  here,  of  which  there  are 
some  remaining  in  Norway,  for  one  head  hangs  in  Thrond- 
heim,  and  another  in  Bergen,  and  many  others  are  to  be 
found.] l  But  there  are  bays,  and  the  land  stretches  out 
towards  the  southwest;  there  are  ice  mountains,  and 
bays,  and  islands  lie  out  in  front  of  the  ice  mountains ;  one 
of  the  ice  mountains  cannot  be  explored,  and  the  other  is 
half  a  month's  sail,  to  the  third,  a  week's  sail.  This  is 
nearest  to  the  settlement  called  Hvidserk.  Thence  the 
land  trends  north ;  but  he  who  desires  to  go  by  the  settle 
ment,  steers  to  the  southwest.  Gardar,  the  bishop's  seat, 
is  at  the  bottom  of  Ericsfiord;  there  is  a  church  consecrated 
to  holy  -Nicholas.  There  are  twelve  churches  in  the 
eastern  settlement,  and  four  in  the  western. 

1  The  part  inclosed  in  brackets  is  an  interpolation  of  a  recent  date,  and 
without  any  authority. 


HO  PRE-COLUMBIAN  DISCOVERY  IN  AMERICA. 

]N"ow  it  should  be  told  what  is  opposite  Greenland,  out 
from  the  bay,  which  was  before  named.  Furdustrandur l 
is  the  name  of  the  land;  the  cold  is  so  severe  that  it  is  not 
habitable,  so  far  as  is  known.  South  from  thence  is 
Helluland,  which  is  called  Skrsellings  land.  Thence  it  is 
not  far  to  Yinland  the  Good,  which  some  think  goes  out 
to  Africa.2  Between  Vinland  and  Greenland,  is  Grinnun- 
gagah,  which  runs  from  the  sea  called  Mare  Oceanum,  and 
surrounds  the  whole  earth. 


1  Not  to  be  confounded  with  the  place  of  the  same  name  at  Cape  Cod. 

2  This  is  another  passage  upon  which  Bancroft  depends,  to  prove  that  the 
locality  of  Vinland  was  unknown,  when  in  the  Sagas  the  position  is  minutely 
described,  the  situation  being  as  well  known  as  that  of  Greenland. 


IND  EX. 


Adalbrand,  104. 

Adam  of  Bremen,  xlix,  n,  36. 

Adzer,  Archbishop,  xxviii. 

JSgisif,  107. 

.ZElian,  xiii. 

Africa,  107,  108,  110. 

Agassiz,  Prof.,  30,  n. 

Alf,  of  Dolum,  88. 

Alfarin  Valeson,  12. 

Alfonso,  xxlvii. 

Alps,  107. 

Alteson,  Jornnd,  18. 

America,  iii. 

Amund,  Bishop,  xxxiv. 

Andreas,  xxxiii. 

Annales  Flateyensis,  104,  n. 

Annales  Islandorum  Regii,  104,  n, 

Annales,  Reseniini,  104,  n. 

Alison,  Lord,  xxxviii. 

Aiitioch,  106,  107. 

Antiquarians,  Royal  Society  of,  Iv,  n. 

Antiquitates  Americans,  Ivii,  n. 

Apulia,  107. 

Archseologia,  Americana,  88,  n. 

Archer,  29,  n,  31,  n,  66,  n. 

Argyle,  Marquis  of,  liv,  n. 

Aristotle,  xiii. 

Arnse,  Magnaean  Collection,  48. 

Arnbiorn,  89,  94,  97. 

Arnlaug,  17,  25. 

Arnold,  xxix,  xxxii ;  Gov.  Benedict, 

Iviii,  n. 

Asbrand,  92  ;  Biorn,  of  Kamb,  89. 
Asia,  106  ;  Minor,  106  ;  Great,  106, 107. 
Aslak,  19,  49. 
Assonnet  Neck,  Iv,  n,  Ivii. 
Athelstane,  xxxvii. 
Atlantis,  xiii. 
Atli  the  Red,  86,  88. 
Avalldania,  63,  70. 
Azore,  Island,  87,  n. 

Babylon,  106  ;  new,  107. 
Bacoloa,  Islands  of,  104,  n. 
Bakka,  94. 
Balder,  55,  n. 
Ball's  River,  xxxvi. 


Bancroft,  108,  n,  110,  n;  Mr.  George, 
xliii  ;  his  views  controverted, 
xliii,  liv,  n. 

Baptistery,  Ivii. 

Bardarson,  Ivan,  12,  n  ;  see  Ivar  Bert. 

Bartholomew,  the  Apostle,  106. 

Beacon,  Mr.  Joseph,  44,  n. 

Beamish,  iii,  iv,  xix,  104,  n,  105,  n. 

Bear  Island,  67. 

Bede,  the  Venerable,  xxiv,  xxxiv,  n. 

Behring  Straits. 

Beresvig,  Roin,  12. 

Bergen,  109. 

Berse,  Haider's  son,  13. 

Bert,  Ivar,  xxxi,  12,  n. 

Bessalangen,  105. 

Betheiicourts,  xvi. 

Biafal,  66  ;  see  Kiafal. 

Biarne,  Bishop,  71,  76, 82;  Butter-Tub, 
49,  n,  51. 

Biarney,  Isle,  65. 

Biorn,  Asbrandson  Breidaviking,  Iii, 
9,  91,  92;  exiled,  93;  returns, 
94,  95,  96  ;  goes  abroad,  100,  103. 

Biorneland,  108,  109. 

Blaaserk,  16,  19. 

Blaland,  107. 

Blig,  Thord,  95,  96. 

Blue  Hills,  62,  n. 

Bogafiord,  17,  20. 

Borgafiord,  East,  105. 

Borgafiorden,  13. 

Bork,  the  Fat,  89. 

Bougainville,  xiv. 

Bory,  de  St.  Vincent,  xvi. 

Braaville,  Ivii,  n. 

Brage,  55,  n. 

Brattahlid,  xxvi. 

Bredobolstad,  19. 

Breidafiord,  17,  20. 

Breidavik,  89. 

Brereton,  29,  n. 

Broke,  19. 

Broughton,  xviii. 

Brun,  Malte,  lix,  n,  Ix,  n. 

Bulgaria,  107. 

Bull,  Papal,  xxv,  n  2. 


112 


INDEX. 


Burislaus,  93,  n, 
Burnet,  liv,  n. 
Burnt,  Nial,  98,  n. 
Buynirlfson,  Dr.,  xxxi. 
Buzzard's  Bay,  31,  n. 
Byrdusmior,  Biarne,  49. 
Byzantium,  xxxvi. 

Cabot,  xxxviii,  105,  ft. 

Cadiz,  viii. 

Canaria,  xv. 

Canary  Islands,  xiv,  xv,  xvi,  xvii,  n. 

Canute,  xxxvii. 

Cape  Cod,  v,  xlvii,  29,  n  ;  old  ship  at, 

30,n. 

Cape  Farewell,  xxviii. 
Cape  Malabar,  31,  n. 
Capraria,  xv,  xvi. 
Carl  Muller,  xiv. 
Chaplains,  xvii. 
Chappell,  28,  n. 
Chatham,  30,  n. 
Chaucer,  98,  n. 
Chingwank,  Iv,  n. 
Christ,  55,  67. 

Christophersen,  Claudius,  xxv,  n  2. 
Cinnamon,  36,  n. 
Clarendon,  Lord,  liv,  n. 
Cock  Lane  ghost,  liii. 
Codex  Flatoiensis,  xli. 
Colsens,  xiii. 
Colonization   of  Greenland,   15 ;    of 

Iceland,  xxi. 

Columbus,  xlviii,  liv.  24,  n,  104,  n. 
Constantinople. 
Grantor,  xxii,  59,  n,  61,  n. 
Crantz,  xxxv. 
Crete,  107. 

Cronica  General  de  Espana,  xlvii. 
Cross,  worshiped,  Ix,  n. 
Crossness,  42. 
Culdees,  xxiv. 
^Cyprus,  107. 

Dagmalstad,  33,  n. 

Danforth,  Dr.,  Iv,  n. 

Darien,  Isthmus  of,  86,  n. 

Dasent,  xxxvi. 

De  Barros,  xvii,  n. 

De  Fries,  Rev.,  xxx. 

Denmark,  107, 109. 

Dicuil,  xxiv,  n. 

Dighton  Rock,  xxx,  n,  Iv,  Ivi,  Ivii,  n, 

12,  n. 

Digramula. 
Dimonsvaag,  19. 
Disco,  32. 
Dogardarness. 
Donsk  tunga,  xx. 
Drangey,  16,  19. 


Drapstock,  21,  23. 
Drift-wood,  14,  n. 
Druidism,  xix,  n. 
Dublin,  64,  103. 
Dudley,  Lieut.  Gov.,  32,  n. 
Duneyjar,  104,  n. 

Earl  Sigvald,  100. 

Early  Christianity  in  America,  traces 
of,  xviii ;  history  of,  xxvii,  n.  2. 

Earth,  brief  description  of,  106. 

East  Indies,  xlviii.  n. 

Easton,  Peter,  Iviii,  n. 

Echard,  liv,  n. 

Egede,  Rev.  Hans,  xxxv,  61,  n. 

Egypt,  107. 

Einar,  13,  17,  19,  n,  25. 

Eindridesuden,  105. 

Elysium,  xiii. 

England,  106. 

Enne,  12. 

Ephesus,  106. 

Eric,  Bishop,  Ivii. 

Eric,  the  Red,  xxv,  xxvi ;  accepts 
Christianity, xxvii;  goes  to  Green 
land,  li,  17,  19 ;  resolves  to  seek 
new  land,  12,  18 ;  banished,  19  ; 
returns  to  Greenland,  20,  22  ;  his 
accident,  28. 

Erickso,  20  ;  see  Ericseya. 

Ericseya,  16. 

Ericsfiord,  xxvi,  109. 

Ericson,  Thovald,  xlvii,  li ;  goes  to 
Vinland,  39  ;  his  death,  "41,  62, 
65 ;  Thorstein,  li,  22 ;  sails  for 
Vinland,  43 ;  returns,  43 ;  his 
death,  45. 

Ericstad,  16. 

Erie,  Bishop  Upse,  liii,  104. 

Erlandson,  Hauk,  xxiii,  n,  11,  n,  48. 

Espihol,  76. 

Esquimaux. 

Ethelred,  xxxvii. 

Euphrates,  106. 

Europe,  107,  109. 

Eyktarstad,  32,  33,  n. 

Eyolfson,  Bishop  Magnus,  xlviii,  n. 

Eyrbyggia  Saga,  89. 

Eyvind,  85. 

Fall  River,  lix,  n. 

Farm,  Leamington,  Iviii. 

Faroese,  Ballad  of,  xlix,  n. 

Feather  Islands,  104. 

Fenris,  55,  n. 

Fiedspidse,  20.  • 

Finboge,  77  ;  sailed  for  Vinland,  77  ; 

murdered,  79. 

Finn  the  Handsome,  xlix,  n. 
Finnmark,  107,  109. 


INDEX. 


113 


Flats,  island  of,  xli. 

Florida,  87,  n. 

Flose,  76. 

Forsark,  Thorkel,  swims  for  a  sheep, 
26. 

Forster,  J.  Reinhold,  xlix. 

Fortunate  isles,  xiv,  xv. 

Foster,  Father,  34,  n. 

Fragments,  geographical,  105. 

France,  107. 

Frederick,  bishop,  17. 

Frederikshab,  xxviii. 

Frey,  55,  n. 

Freydis,  51,  77,  n  ;  sailed  for  Vinland, 
77  ;  quarrels  with  the  company, 
78 ;  murders  the  brothers  and 
their  company  ;  returns  to  Green 
land,  80. 

Fridgerda,  49. 

Friederichstal,  xxxi. 

Frisland,  107. 

Frithiof  s  Saga,  xxiii,  n,  52,  n. 

Froda,  91,  95. 

Frode,  Ari,  xxiii,  xxiv,  n,  xlvi. 

Fuerteventura,  xvi. 

Furderstrand,  73;  see  Wonder- 
strand. 

Furdustrandur,  110. 

Galdrakin,  Thorgrim,  96. 

Games,  64. 

Gamlason,  Thorhall,  49. 

Ganges,  106. 

Gardar,    xxi ;  location    of,   xxix,  n; 

cathedral  of,  xxx  ;  marriage  in, 

xxxiii,  n,  77,  109. 
Gardaridge,  109. 
Gaspe,  lix,  n. 
Geir,  the  Priest,  98. 
Gellarson,  Thorgeir,  16. 
Geller,  Thord,  49 ;  Thorkel,  88. 
Geon,  107. 
Germany,  107. 
Geyser,  xxii. 
Gilbert,  29,  n,  3. 
Gisli,  the  Outlaw,  18,  n. 
Gisser,  38. 

Gissur,  the  White,  xxxii,  n. 
Glambaerland,  81. 
Gnupson,  Bishop  Eric,  xxviii. 
Gode,  89,  n. 
Godthaab,  xxviii. 
Goe,  Month  of,  14. 
Gomera,  xvi. 
Gornbornese-Skare,  12,  n  ;  see  Gunn- 

biorn's  Rocks. 
Gosnold,  29,  n,  53,  n. 
Gottland,  108. 

Gould,  Sabine-Baring,  xliv,  n. 
Graah,  Captain,  xxviii. 

15 


Grammaticus,  Saxb,  Ivi,  n. 

Grapes,  54. 

Graysteel,  19,  n. 

Great  Ireland,  64,  86,  87,  n. 

Greece,  107. 

Greenland,  discovery  of,  xxv;  pro 
gress  of,  xxvi  ;  tributary  to  Nor 
way,  xxvii ;  church  organized 
in,  xxviii ;  monuments  and  ruins, 
xxx ;  explorations  in,  xxxii  ; 
trade  of,  xxxiii ;  last  bishop  of, 
xxxiii ;  decline  of,  xxxiii ;  lost 
Greenland  found,  xxxv;  Queen 
Margaret  prohibits  trade,  xxxv; 
ruins  in,  21 ;  cattle,  26  ;  Christi 
anity  introduced,  108,  109. 

Greenlander,  Jon.,  xxxiv. 

Gregory,  iv,  xxv,  n,  2. 

Grettir,  Saga,  xliv,  n,  28,  n. 

Grimhild,  her  death,  44. 

Grimkel,  12. 

Grimolfson,  Biarne,  49,  51 ;  lost  in  the 
Worm  Sea,  63,  n. 

Gripla,  106,  109. 

Gudlaug  the  Rich,  100. 

Gudlaugson,  Gudleif,  lii ;  goes  to  Du 
blin,  100  ;  carried  to  sea,  101, 102. 

Gudrid,  37,  44,  45  ;  second  marriage, 
57,  72  ;  goes  to  Vinland,  51,  64, 
72  ;  goes  to  Rome,  81,  n;  a  nun,  8. 

Gudrun,  76. 

Gunnbiorn,  xxv  ;  his  rocks,  li,  12, 11, 
12,  13 ;  money  found  at,  14. 

Gunnstein,  13. 

Gunthorm  Stale,  105. 

Hafgerdingar,  22,  n,  25. 

Hafrafell,  85. 

Haki,  53,  66, 

Haldor,  xxxiii,  13. 

Halifax,  29. 

Halla,  76. 

Hallbera,  Fru,  Abbess  of  Stad,  76. 

Hallfrida,  71,  76,  82. 

Halmond,  xliv,  n. 

Halogaland,  xxxviii. 

Hanno,  xiv. 

Harald  Harfagr,  xxi. 

Hardicanute,  xxxvii. 

Harold,  The  Stern,  xxxvii. 

Harvard  college,  Iv,  n. 

Hauk,  Herr,  76. 

Haukdal,  16,  18,  19. 

Havgrim,  17,  22. 

Head  brink,  94. 

Head,  Sir  Edmund,  xl,  n,  xlvi. 

Ifeath,  lix,  n. 

Hebrides,  25,  90. 

Heimdal,  35,  n. 

Hekia,  53, 66. 


114, 


INDEX. 


Heimskringla,  iii,  87,  n,  xxxvii,  n, 
xlvii,  Ivi,  n. 

Hela,  55. 

Helge,  77 ;  sailed  for  Vinland,  77 ; 
murdered,  79  ;  the  Lean,  86. 

Helgefell,  89,  91, 100. 

Helluland,  liii,  65,  108,  110. 

Helsingeland,  108. 

Henningson,  Magnus,  xxxv. 

Heriulf,  21,  23,  n,  25. 

Heriulfness,  xxiv. 

Heriulf  son,  Biarne,  li ;  goes  to  Nor 
way,  27  ;  goes  to  Greenland,  22  ; 
sees  new  land,  23, 24  ;  settles,  25. 

Herodotus,  xlvii. 

Hesperides,  xv. 

Hialte,  xxvii,  n  3,  38. 

Hispania,  107. 

Historic  Genealogical  Register,  30,  n. 

Historiske  Mindesmserker,   Gron- 
land,  11,  15,  87,  n. 

Hitardale,  16. 

Hoby,  Ivi,  n. 

Hofda-Strand,  49. 

Hogni  the  White,  85. 

Holmgard,  107. 

Holstein,  109. 

Holsteinborg,  xxviii. 

Homer,  xiii,  xlvii. 

Homstater,  20. 

Honey  Dew,  31,  n. 

Hop,  60,  70  ;  see  Mt.  Hope, 

Horse  head,  Thord,  49. 

Hortado,  Mary,  61,  n. 

Hreidarson,  Ulf,  12. 

Husasnotru,  81,  n. 

Hvalso,  26. 

Hvalsofiord,  26. 

Hvidserk,  109. 

Hvitrammana-land,  Iii,  86. 

Hymn  to  Thor,  55,  67. 

Iceland,  discovery,  xxi ;  colonization, 
xxi ;  birds  of,  xxii ;  mammalia, 
xxii ;  Christianity  introduced, 
xxxi,  17 ;  date  of  manuscripts, 
xli ;  the  Saga-men,  xii ;  printing 
press  established,  xlvii ;  The 
Eddas,  xlvii. 

Icelandic,  grammat.  structure  of,  iv. 

Iduna,  55,  n. 

Igaliko,  xxx,  Ivi. 

Illuge,  19. 

India,  106. 

Indialand,  106. 

Indians,  Gaspe,  lix,  n. 

Ingigerd,  76. 

Ingolf,  xxii,  21,  25,  53,  n. 

Ingolfshodi,  xxii,  n,  xxiii. 

lona,  Isles  of,  xxiv. 


Ireland,  108,  109. 

Ireland  the  Great,  xviii. 

Irish  Monks,  xxi,  n  ;  books  of,  xxiii ; 

bells  and  croziers  of,  xxiv,  101. 
Ironsides,  Biarne,  49. 
Irving,  Washington,  xliv,  xlviii,  n. 
Islands,  Greek,  107. 
Isle,  of  Currents,  54  ;  Nauset,  29,  n, 

31,  n,  53,  66 ;  of  Sable,  52,  n. 
Isles,  of  America,  xviii ;  of  the  Blessed, 

xiv. 
Italy,  Ivii,  107. 

Jardar,  xxv,  12,  n,  15. 
Jerusalem,  106. 
John,  the  Apostle,  106. 
Johnson,  Biorn,  48  ;  Dr.,  liii. 
Joinville,  xlvii. 
Jomsberg,  Vikings,  93. 
Jones,  Inigo,  lix,  n. 
Jord,  the  Earth,  91,  n. 
Jorund,  16,  76,  88. 
Julian's  Hope,  xxviii,  xxx. 
Juno,  Temple  of,  xvi. 
Junonia,  xv,  xvi,  xvii. 

Kakortok,  xxx. 

Kalbrunarskald,  Thormod,  13. 

Kallstegg,  xxiii,  n  ;  iv,  n. 

Kamb,  97. 

Kanitsok,  Ivii. 

Karkortok,  Ivii. 

Karlsefne,  lix  ;  Thorfinn,  Iii,  Ivi,  n, 
3,  n ;  goes  to  Greenland,  49 ; 
marriage,  51,  72  ;  sails  for  Vin- 
51,  64,  72;  sails  past  Wonder- 
strand,  55  ;  trades,  58,  73 ;  battle 
with  natives,  59,  75 ;  seeks  Thor- 
hall,  61 ;  sails  south,  55;  kills 
some  Skrsellings,  60  ;  returns  to 
Greenland,  63,  75,  177 ;  goes  to 
Iceland,  71,  76  ;  goes  to  Norway, 
80  ;  cuts  wood,  108  ;  Snorre,  born, 
74, 76,  82. 

Kendal,  A.  E.,lvii,  n. 

Ketil,  17,  25,  89. 

Kiafal,  53. 

Kialarness,  40,  52,  65. 

Kiarten,  93,  95,  103. 

King,  Christian  II,  xxxv ;  Christian 
III,  xxxv;  Frederic  II,  xxxv; 
Henry  of  Portugal,  xvii,  n; 
Harold,  xxiv,  xlv,  93 ;  Juba  II, 
xv,  xvi ;  Magnus,  xxxii ;  Olaf 
the  Saint,  100;  Olaf  Tryggvesson, 
Saga  of,  xxxviii,  18 ;  accepts 
Christianity,  xxvi ;  his  swim 
ming  match,  xxxvii ;  ship  of, 
xxxviii ;  Sweno,  xlix,  n  ;  Nebu 
chadnezzar,  106. 


INDEX. 


115 


Kingiktorsoak,  xxxi. 

Kingsborough,  xvii. 

Kittlebiarne,  38,  n. 

Knarrabringa,  Thorbiary,  16,  18,  88. 

Kodranson,  Thorvold,  17. 

Kol,  18,  n. 

Kolgrimsson,  Hroar,  xxx. 

Krage,  Ulf,  113. 

Krok,  Thorvald,  76. 

Kroksfiardarheidi,  xxxii. 

Kvendland,  108. 

Labrador,  28,  n. 

Laing,  iii,  iv,  Ivii,  n  ;  Prof.,  xxxix. 

Lake,  69  ;  houses  built  at,  70. 

Lancerote,  xvi. 

Landa-Rolf,  105. 

Landnama  Book,  xxiii,  n  1,11. 

Law  of  matrimony,  79,  n. 

Leamington,  Iviii,  n. 

Leclerc,  Father,  lix. 

Ledehammar,  xxxviii. 

Leif,  xxvi,  li,  Iii,  18,  22,  26  ;  goes  to 
Vinland,  27  ;  returns  to  Green 
land,  36 ;  finds  shipwrecked 
sailors,  36,  38,  39  ;  sent  to  pro 
claim  Christianity  in  Greenland, 
38,  39  ;  his  Booths,  lix,  40, 50,  72, 
105,  n  ;  his  judgment  on  Freydis, 
80,  88  ;  the  Lucky,  108. 

Leikskaale,  19. 

Literature  of  Iceland,  xliii ;  Anglo- 
Saxon,  xlvi  ;  of  France,  xlvii  ; 
Castilian,  xlvii. 

Lizards,  xvii. 

Lodbrok,  Rognar,  49. 

Logman's  Annall,  104,  n. 

Loigardelen,  13. 

Loke,  55,  n. 

Lombardland,  107. 

Lombardy,  107. 

Long  Serpent,  xxxviii. 

Loptson,  Thorolf  Eyar,  100. 

Machin,  Robert,  xvii,  n. 

Madeira,  xvi. 

Madr,  Ivi,  n. 

Magnus,  Olaus,  xl. 

Magnussen,  Prof.,  Finn,  xxxi,  xxxiii, 

xlvii,  77,  27,  n. 
Magre,  Haider,  105. 
Maine,  liv,  n. 
Major,  xvi. 
Malte  Brun,  32,  n. 
Man,  Isle  of,  90. 
Manamoyake  Bay,  31,  n. 
Manuscripts,  date  of,  xli. 
Manvel,  Juan,  xlvii. 
Mar,  86,  99. 


Marana,  John  Paul,  xix. 
Markland,  liii,  29,  n,  65,  105, 108. 
Mars,  Vigdis,  xxx. 
Marson,  Are,  Hi,   85,    86,  n,  87,  n, 

88,  n. 

Martha's  Vineyard,  54,  n. 
Massachusetts,  108,  n. 
Massur  Wood,  81. 
Mather,  Dr.  Cotton,  Iv,  n,  46,  n  ;  his 

Magnolia,  46,  n,  58,  n,  61,  n, 

74,  n. 

Mathieson,  xxx. 
Mauritania,  xx. 
Medafeels-strand,  90. 
Mediterranean,  106,  107. 
Merry  Mount,  32,  n. 
Mexico,  British  Language  in,  xix. 
Midgard,  35,  n. 
Midjokul,  16,  20. 
Miklagard,  107. 
Milesieus,  xix,  n. 
Mill,  Newport,  Iviii,  n,   Chesterton, 

lix,  n. 

Minor  Narratives,  Iii,  86. 
Missionaries,  French,  lix,  n. 
Mjorfiord,  13. 
Money  found,  li. 
Monuments,  absence  of,   Iv. 
Moore,  xix. 

Morton,  New  English  Canaan,  32,  n. 
Mossfell,  38,  n. 
Mount  Desert,  liv,  n. 
Mount  Hope  Bay,  Iii,  32,  56. 
Mundia,  107. 

Nadodd,  xxi. 

Narragansett  Bay,  6,  n. 

Narratives,  1 ;  their  truthfulness,  liii ; 
their  age,  liv  ;  Major  Narratives, 
9  ;  Minor,  83. 

Nantucket,  30,  n,  32,  n. 

Neprass,  Hergill,  87. 

Ness  Roin,  12. 

Newfoundland,  liii. 

Newport,  Iviii,  n,  lix,  n. 

Mall,  xix. 

Nicholas,  109. 

Nidaros,  18. 

Nile,  107. 

Nineveh,  106. 

Nivaria,  xv. 

Nordenfield,  95. 

Nordrsetur,  xxxii. 

North  American  Review,  iii. 

Northern  Antiquarians,  xlix,  29,  n. 

Northmen,  xviii,  xx  ;  character  and 
achievements  of,  xxxvi  ;  ships  of, 
xxxvii ;  colonize  Greenland, 
xxxvii ;  discover  America,  xxxvi ; 
nautical  knowledge  of,  xl. 


INDEX. 


Northumbria,  xxxvii. 
Norway,  107,  109. 
Nutmegs,  36,  n. 
Nyja,  105,  n. 
Nyja  Land,  104,  n. 
Nyjafundu-land,  105,  n. 

Ocean,  Pacific,  108. 

Oceanum,  Mare,  110. 

Oddson,  Eindrid,  xxxi. 

Odin,  xxii,  n,  xxii,  9,  n,  55,  v,  n. 

Oeland,  108. 

Ogursvigen,  13. 

O'Halloran,  xix. 

Olaf,  the  Saint,  xxxvii. 

Old  Mill,  Iviii,  n. 

Ombrios,  xv,  xvi. 

Orcobares,  106. 

Ord,  91,  82. 

Orkneys,  90. 

Ormuzd,  xxii. 

Orne,  the  Lean,  89. 

Otis,  Amos,  30,  n. 

Paley,  Dr.,  liv. 

Palfrey,  lix,  n. 

Palingenesia,  xxii. 

Palma,  xvi. 

Palnatoki,  93,  n,  94. 

Palteskia,  107. 

Papey,  Island  of,  xxiv. 

Papyli,  Island  of,  xxiv. 

Paradise,  106,  107. 

Parentals,  92. 

Parry,  xxxi. 

Peak  of  Teneriffe. 

Pelham,  Edward,  Iviii,  n. 

Penguin  Islands,  104,  n. 

Peiiobscot,  i,  iv,  n. 

Peringskiold,  32,  n,  36,  n,  40,  ti. 

Permia,  108, 109. 

Peter,  the  Apostle,  106. 

Peyrere,  xxv,  n  2,  xxxiv. 

Pharaoh  Necho,  xiv. 

Phenicians,  xiii,  xiv,  xvii. 

Phcenius,  xix,  n, 

Pillars  of  Hercules,  xii,  xiii. 

Pison,  106. 

Plato,  xiii. 

Pliny,  xv,  xvi,  57. 

Pluviala,  xvi. 

Plutarch,  xvi. 

Plymouth  Colonists,  xlvii. 

Point  Alderton,  40,  n. 

Point  Care,  66. 

Point  Gilbert,  30,  n,  31,  n,  40,  n,  53, 

n,  66,  n. 

Popham,  George,  36,  n. 
Port  Haldiman,  29. 
Priests  of  Sais,  xiii. 


Prince  Henry  the    Navigator,   xvi, 

72,w. 

Prince  Madoc,  xx. 
Purchas,  His  Pilgrimage,  12,  n. 
Puerto  Bello,  63,  n. 
Purpurariee,  xv,  xvi. 
Pulsland,  107. 

Queen  Margaret,  xxxv. 

Race  Point,  40,  n. 

Ram,  Holm-Gang,  16,  19;  Prof.,  iv, 
v ;  the  Limerick  merchant,  85, 
86,  88,  xviii,  xxxiii,  xlix ;  his 
Antiquities  of  America,  xlix,  Iv, 
Ivi,  15,  25,  30,  n,  31,  n,  87,  n,  103. 

Rask,  Professor,  xxxi. 

Raudulf,  xxxviii. 

Rauglatr,  76. 

Red-beard,  67  ;  see  Thor. 

Reikiavik,  xxiii,  12,  76. 

Rhine,  107. 

Rhode  Island,  li ;  Historical  Society 
of,  Ivi. 

Robertson,  Rev.  Dr.,  xlix. 

Rocks,  Portsmouth,  Ivii,  n  ;  Tiverton, 
Ivii,  n. 

Rofnsgripa,  17. 

Roger  Guiscard,  xxxvi,  n. 

Rolf  of  Rbdesand,  13,  104. 

Rollo,  xxxvii. 

Ronhavnos,  94, 100. 

Round  Towers,  lix,  n. 

Runamoe,  Ivi,  n. 

Runic  Letters,  on  an  oar,  xxxiv  ;  age 
of  Alphabet,  xviii ;  in  Grettir 
Saga,  xliv,  n. 

Runolfson,  Bishop  Thorlak,  71,  76, 
82. 

Russia,  107,  108. 

Sacred  Fish,  57,  69. 

Ssemund  the  Wise,  xlvi. 

Sagadahoc,  36,  n. 

Sagas,  iii,  iv,  110,  n;  general  know 
ledge  of,  xlix. 

St.  Columba,  xviii ;  Paul,  liv  ;  Pat 
rick,  xviii ;  John,  Iii ;  Savior, 
liv,  n. 

St.  Sophia,  107. 

Salmon,  32. 

Saxavol,  12. 

Saxe,  son  of  Alfarin  Valeson,  15. 

Saxo  Grammaticus,  xlviii. 

Saxon,  v. 

Schoning,  87,  n. 

Schoolcraft,  Henry,  Iv,  n. 

Scotland,  108. 

Scots,  53. 

Sea  of  Darkness,  xii. 


INDEX. 


117 


Seat,  Episcopal,  106  ;  of  Gaidar,  108, 

109. 

Seat  Posts,  19  ;  see  Setstakkar. 
Serkland,  107. 
Sertorius,  xiv. 
Setstakkar,  xxii,  n. 
Shawanese  Indians,  87,  n. 
Sicily,  107. 
Sida,  105. 

Sighvatson,  Erling,  xxxi. 
Sigurd,  Earl  of  the  Orkneys,  90. 
Skagafiord,  81. 
Skalholt,  xxxi,  v. 
Skardfa,  Biaeren  von,  xxxiv. 
Skeleton  in  armor,  lix,  n. 
Skialdespilder,  Eyvind,  xlv. 
Skotufiorden,  13. 
Skrsellings,  xxxii,  xxxiii,  21,  41,  57  ; 

Trade  with  Karlsefne,  58,  69,  70, 

73  ;  one  killed  74. 
Skrcellings  land,  110. 
Slaves,  18,  n,  19,  53. 
Sledges,  98. 
Slut  Bush,  30,  n. 
Smaellingar,  41,  n. 
Smalenskia,  107. 
Smith,   Capt.   John,  29,   n;  Joshua 

Toulmin,  iii,  iv  ;  Mr.  Philip,  46, 

n. 

Smith's  Dialogues,  42. 
Snaebiorn,  Galte,  13  ;  killed  14, 15,71. 
Snsefell,  mountain  of,  xxxii. 
Snoefellsjokull,  16. 
Snorre,  89,  91,  93,  96,  97,  98,  99,  102. 
Snow,  70. 
Snowland,  xxi. 
Soers,  Eyulf,  16. 
Sokke,  xxix. 
Solon,  xiii. 
Solvi,  17,  25. 
Sondensfield,  95. 
Spainland,  107. 
Speculum  Regali,  xl. 
Staerbiorn,  13. 
Stafholt,  13. 
Statias  Sebosus,  xv,  xvi. 
Steinum,  76. 

Sterka,  Herr  Ereland,  76. 
Stilicho,  xix,  n,  1. 
Strabo,  xix,  xvii. 

Straum  Bay,  54,  70  ;  see  Stream  Bay. 
Straumey,  66. 
Styrbiorn,  93,  94,  n,  97. 
Straumfiord,  100. 
Stream  Bay,  54. 
Stuf,  the  Skald,  xlv. 
Sturlingers,  100. 
Styrmer,  xxiii,  n,  11,  n. 
Sukkeroppen,  xxviii. 
Sumarlide,  13. 


Superstition,  28,  n. 
Sweden,  107  ;  the  lesser,  108. 
Swein,  xxxvii. 
Sydero,  19. 

Tacenta,  86,  n. 

Tacitus,  xix,  n,  2. 

Taunton,  Iv,  n. 

Thor,  xxii,  n,  xxiv,  9,  n,  35,  n,  54,  55. 

Thorberg,  xxxviii,  n. 

Thorbiorg,  86. 

Thorbiorn,  65  ;  the  Fat,  89,  91 ;  Vifil- 

son,  16. 

Thorbjornglora,  17,  25. 
Thorbrandson,  Helgi,  17,  25  ;  Snowe, 

49. 

Thord,  49,  72. 

Thordarson,  Biorn,  xxxi ;  Snorre,  72. 
Thordsen,  xxiii,  n,  11,  n. 
Thordis,  76. 
Thorer  the  Idle,  39. 
Thorfinn,  Earl  of  the  Orkneys,  88. 
Thorgeir,  71,  76 ;  Red,  13. 
Thorgest,  16,  19,  20. 
Thorgills,  Kollson,  88. 
Thorgird,  21. 
Thorgrim,  Styr,  16. 
Thorhall  the  Hunter,  51,  54,  65,  67, 

68. 
Thorhild,  xxvii,  16  ;  her  church,  47  ; 

the  Partridge,  49. 
Thorkafiord,  85. 
Thorkatla,  87. 
Thorkel,  13,  14. 
Thorlacius,  Bishop,  32,  n. 
Thorod,  13,  killed,  14,  15,  n. 
Thorodd,  90, 91,  92,  93, 95,  96,97, 100  ; 

Wooden  Clog,  91. 
Thoruna,  49. 
Thorsnesthing,  93. 
Thorstein  Black,  44,  82,  n. 
Thoruna,  71,  76, 82. 
Thorvald,  son  of  Helge,  104  ;  son  of 

Osvald,  15,  16. 
Thorvord,  52. 
Theopompus,  xii. 
Thingness,  13,  14. 
Throndheim,  18,  109. 
Thurid,  51,  n,  76 ;  of  Froda,  89,  91, 

102,  103. 
Tigris,  106. 
Timber  cut,  73. 
Todum,  19. 
Torfseus,  xxxi ;  works  of,  xlix,  32,  n, 

48. 

Tradition,  Indian,  Ivii,  n. 
Traditions,  xviii. 
Turkish  Spy,  xix. 
Tyrians,  xiii. 
Tyrker,  28,  34,  35. 


118 


INDEX. 


Ulf  Krage,  xxv,  16. 
Ulf  Oexna-Thorerisson,  15. 
Ulf  the  Squinter,  85,  88. 
Unipeds,  61. 
Uvsege,  63,  70. 

Vag,  21. 

Val,  91,  92. 

Valldidia,  63,  70. 

Valgerda,  76. 

Valthiof,  18. 

Vathelldi,  63,  70. 

Vatnaliver,  17,  18,  25. 

Vatshorn,  16. 

Vermeland,  108. 

Villehardouin,  xlvii. 

Vinland,  xxvii,  n  1,  Ivii,  108 ;  Ban 
croft's  Views  of,  xliii,  n  ;  known 
by  Adam  of  Bremen,  xlix,  n,  36, 
n ;  known  by  the  Irish,  xlix,  n, 
liii,  Ivi  ;  climate,  32,  67  ;  situation 
of,  87  ;  the  Good,  108, 110. 

Vivien  de  St.  Martin,  xiv. 

Voyages  — Eric  the  Red,  15-21  ;  Bi- 
arne,  21-26  ;  Leif  's,  26-43  ;  Thor- 
stein's,  43-48 ;  Karlsefne's,  48- 
76;  Freydis,  77-82;  Helge,  77- 


Voyages,  continued  — 

82  ;  Finboge,  77-82  ;  Marson's, 
85-88  ;  Asbrandson's,  89-100  ; 
Gudlangson's,  100-13  ;  Miscella 
neous,  103-105 ;  Phenicians,  xiv. 

Wafer,  8,  6,  n. 

Waldemar  the  Great,  93,  n. 

Walkendorf,  Archbishop  Eric,  xxxv. 

Walliii,  93,  n. 

Warwick,  lix,  n. 

Warwickshire,  Iviii,  n,  lix,  n. 

Webb,  Dr.,  31,  n. 

Werlauf,  14,  n. 

Whales,  54,  56,  73. 

Wheat,  54,  66. 

White-man's  land,  63,  70,  86,  87,  n, 

88. 

Winthrop,  Prof.,  Iv,  n. 
Wonder-strand,  30,  n,  53,  n,  66,  n,  69. 
Woodland,  105,  n. 
Woodrow,  liv,  n. 
Wormius,  xxxiv. 
Worm  Sea,  63,  70. 
Writing  Rock  ;  see  Dighton  Rock. 

Yule,  50. 


